Digimon Heroes
by nld200xy
Summary: Tokyo is in danger as monsters known as Digimon have suddenly appeared and started causing havoc. However, there is hope in the form of a young girl named Fukuko who has the power to stand up to these beings. But can it possibly be enough?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I do not own the rights to the Digimon used in this fic.

It was a cold and windy night in Tokyo while a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a stocky build was walking home from a late night of shopping. The man let out a sigh, holding two bags and grumbling, "Why didn't she tell me we were out of potatoes?"

But just as he was about to enter his car, the man's eyes widened when he heard a low growling sound coming from behind him. However, when he turned, he was confuse when he saw a big yellow teddy bear standing there with a bandage over its bellybutton section.

However, after the man turned his gaze to notice a toy store located right next to the grocery store, he nodded in understanding and said, "Oh, you must be the mascot for that toy store over there."

The bear simply stared at him with a pair of red ominous-looking eyes while the man continued, "You kinda scared me. Maybe you should take off the head and carry it with you, you know, so people don't mistake you for a living toy."

However, the bear did not seem to be listening as it proceeded to spread its arms out, releasing blue transparent hearts from its chest, the man's assuming they were merely bubbles coming from a mechanism on the costume. He was soon proven wrong when one of the hearts touched up against him, trapping the man inside. His eyes widened as he was about to cry for help only for a smile to form on his face, the man laughing hysterically while the bear marched toward him, spreading its arms out again.

However, before it could do anything else, something strange happened as a white and green blur streaked through the area, popping the transparent heart open while the man fell gently on his rear end. His eyes were now wide as he gasped, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?"

However, his focus turned away from the bear when he noticed who had saved him. It was a young girl who seemed to be wearing a costume of some kind. Her hair was snow white and her head had a horn coming up from it. Overlapping her human ears was a pair of long, floppy white rabbit ears with green ends shaped like fingers and two green stripes along the middle of each. This girl sported a green scarf around her neck and wore a cute white shoulderless dress that went just below her thighs, a pair of green shoes with claws coming from the front of each one and a pair of green gloves. As if that was not strange enough, she also had a small white nub of a tail coming out her rear end.

The man stared at the girl in silence, about to question the look when she turned to him and exclaimed, "Sir, it's best you run! This bear is a dangerous monster!"

The man stared at her as if she was crazy when the bear opened up its arms, unleashing hearts toward her. However, the girl saw this coming as she stood on her tip-toes, spinning around like a twister and shouting, "TERRIER TORNADO!"

Her body actually generated a small twister in response to this action as the hearts popped open upon impact. The man was simply spellbound as he uttered, "What are you?"

Once the girl stopped spinning, she turned to the man and said, "That's of no importance. Just know that I'm here to help and I can actually stop this thing."

The man did not need more information than that as he quickly bolted into his car and took off, the girl turning toward the bear who was ready to unleash more hearts. However, the girl did not feel the least bit alarmed as she smirked before opening her mouth wide, a green ball of energy forming in it.

The following morning, the man who had been saved was seated in the kitchen of his house for breakfast, sipping coffee and letting out a yawn. A young woman with red hair entered the room and sighed, "Kenta, honey, maybe you shouldn't go to work today."

The man set down his cup and sighed, "Yumi, you know I can't do that unless I have a good reason, right? Who's gonna believe I lost sleep because a giant teddy bear attacked me?"

"I thought you said it was a grizzly," the woman, Yumi, replied as the man, Kenta, sighed, "That's almost as unbelievable."

At that moment, a young slender girl with red hair that was almost identical to Yumi's and eyes like those of her father, hazel to be exact, entered the kitchen. She had a big smile on her face as she hugged both adults, squealing, "Good morning, Mom! Good morning, Dad!"

"Morning, Akari," Yumi said with a light smile, "You look cheerful today."

The girl, Akari, nodded her head and replied, "Well, it is a beautiful day," Kenta slowly turning his gaze toward the window to see a clear blue sky, the man shrugging and replying, "Well, so it is."

Akari looked at her father with concern and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, honey," Kenta replied with a warm smile before ruffling her hair. With that, the man rose from his seat and stretched his arms, adding, "I best be off to work."

Of course, Kenta had not told Akari of what had happened the night before. It was already strange enough that he had told his wife about being attacked, but he did not wish to worry Akari. This was due to her being very sensitive and if she felt like her family was in danger, she would have trouble focusing on anything else and this would likely result in her doing poorly in school, which Kenta would not allow.

Soon after the man headed off, Akari had her own breakfast and was ready for school. She happily waved goodbye to Yumi and rushed off with her backpack on and a big smile on her face. One thing Akari had been taught was to always have a positive outlook on life and this was something she would always live with, or at least that was what she thought.

While Akari ran off to school, she noticed a girl with short black hair approaching her with a big grin on her face. This was her best friend, Cho.

"Hey there, Akari," the girl said with a grin, "What's up?"

Akari shrugged and replied, "Nothing new. Anything going on in your life?"

"Actually," Cho replied, pulling out two tickets and adding, "Mom got me free tickets to 'Fists of Fire' tonight. I'll warn you that there is supposed to be a lot of fighting in it. Is that okay with you?"

Akari nodded and replied, "As long as I'm watching it with you, I'll be fine."

"Well, alright," Cho replied with a shrug, "but you really don't have to come if you don't want to," Akari shaking her head and replying, "I know there's no one else you'd rather go with," a big smile on her face.

Cho smirked and said, "You're the best," giving her friend a noogie as Akari squeaked. Once that was over, the two were headed off to school.

Once in class, Cho took a deep breath and sighed, "Biggest downside to school; we have to start with Math," Akari patting her friend on the shoulder saying, "There, there, you'll be fine."

"Attention, students," a young woman with blond hair said, the students looking at her while she continued, "We have a new student joining us today. I'd like you all to welcome Fukuko."

With that, a young girl with short green hair entered the classroom and bowed to the students. After that, she sported a big grin and said, "Hey, it's nice to meet you all."

And with all said and done, Fukuko was assigned to an empty seat next to Akari. Akari simply smiled as the new students walked over and sat down next to her. Despite having never met the girl, Fukuko simply flashed her a grin. Whoever this Fukuko was, she certainly seemed friendly.

Once class ended, Akari tapped the new girl on the shoulder, Fukuko turning to her and saying, "Oh, hello. You're Akari, right?" the red-head nodding and replying, "That's right."

"So, how are you liking Tokyo so far?" Cho asked as Fukuko simply replied, "It's nice, but I haven't seen a whole lot. After all, I've only been here for two days."

Akari nodded in response before suggesting, "Hey, how about we show you around after school?" Cho nodding with a grin and adding, "It'll be fun. We can show you all the cool places to hang out."

A big smile crossed Fukuko's lips, but it did not last long. The other two girls stared with concern as she took a deep breath and replied, "I'd love that, I really would, but I'm super busy tonight. We still haven't completely set up, and..."

"Don't say anymore," Cho replied, holding up her hand, "That makes perfect sense."

Akari nodded her head and added, "Yeah, it's best you be there to help your family."

Fukuko gave a weak smile and replied, "Thanks for understanding," before walking with the two to their next class.

Fukuko had not told them the complete truth. She was busy that night, but she would not be helping her parents unpack and organize their belongings. But what else could she possibly have on her plate that was so important?

Whatever the case, Cho and Akari at least bought Fukuko's story, so whatever her secret was would be safe for the time being. Besides, both girls would be going to a movie that night, so if they had shown the new student around, they would have had little time to do much else.

The next two classes went by rather quickly as it was soon time for lunch. Luckily, Fukuko had been in all of Akari and Cho's classes so far, so they had been given a good amount of time to get to know her. And to make things even better, Fukuko had agreed to have lunch with them.

Akari took a seat with a bento box she had brought from home as Cho sighed, "I wish I was as on top of things as you," her stomach growling as Akari asked, "Did you forget your lunch again?"

"Again?" Fukuko asked while having a sandwich, Akari simply giving Cho a sweet smile and offering her half of her lunch.

"Yeah, this is more-or-less a daily thing with us now," Cho replied with a nervous laugh, "I can never remember to put together a lunch for myself, so Akari shares some of hers with me."

"That must be awkward on days where she brings small lunches," Fukuko replied as Akari shook her head and stated, "Oh no, I always bring bento boxes. Dad says they'll help me grow big and strong," the girl then giggling to herself before adding, "Honestly, I'm just glad I have someone else to share these with. I don't think I could handle a whole one."

Cho smirked and gave Akari a noogie while the girl squeaked, Fukuko smiling and saying, "You two seem really close."

Cho nodded and replied, "Oh yeah, we've been best friends since we were ten. Akari was being picked on by a group of bullies so I saved her life. In return, she helped me get through elementary school."

Akari blushed brightly and squeaked, "That's what friends do!" Cho laughing before remarking, "There you go being all modest again!"

Fukuko smiled bright at the sight of this, a slight twinge of envy filling her. Fukuko had never had a best friend before, and anyone she believed to be a friend never went beyond the point of an acquaintance.

It was not that she unpopular in her hometown. On the contrary, a lot of people had wanted to be friends with her and would often ask her to hang out with them. And Fukuko could never do it as she was always busy with something family-related, or so she said.

More often than not, the girl had actually lied about this, but why? What did she have to gain from blowing off people who simply wanted to be friends with her? She certainly did not seem to be the shy type. She certainly came off as a friendly and that was definitely in her nature.

And yet even right now, Fukuko merely saw Cho and Akari as nice acquaintances. She had no intention of getting close enough to them to call them friends, but why? Was she afraid to go that far with anyone or was it something more serious than that?

"Hey, Fukuko, I know you're busy tonight, but how would you like us to show you around tomorrow?" Cho asked as Fukuko simply gave her a light smile and replied, "We'll see," though deep down, she was simply covering up the fact that she would never agree to hang out with them.

Luckily for her, though, Akari and Cho were blissfully unaware as the rest of the school day flew by. And with that out of the way, everyone was headed home with Akari and Cho agreeing to meet up at the theatre at seven seeing as the movie would not be starting until seven-fifteen.

Fukuko, meanwhile, was on her way home as she pulled out a cellphone and called up her phone home. At that moment, a middle-aged man, her father, answered while the girl listened to his words and said, "Yeah, it was alright."

After listening to more words, the girl took a deep breath and stated, "There were a couple of students. Akari and Cho. They seem nice."

The man proceeded to ask her a question as she sighed, "I don't think so. As nice as they are, I'm not sure if they really want to make friends with me."

Of course, her father had asked if she had made friends with the two girls. However, much like with them, Fukuko had told a lie. Whatever her secret was must have been big for her to even hide it from her own family.

Whatever the case, she would certainly not be revealing anything as her father believed her and told her he would be home when she arrived home. And as it just so happened, he had just finished organizing the rest of the family's belongings, so he did not even need Fukuko's help with anything.

However, this hardly mattered to her as she simply shrugged and thought, 'Oh well, I guess I can start my rounds early tonight.'

Akari was a lot more positive during dinner while she ate, Yumi asking, "So, dear, how was school today?"

"It was great," Akari replied, "We have a new girl in class," Kenta letting out a loud yawn and uttering, "That's great, dear. What's her name?"

Akari stared at her father and asked, "Are you okay?" the man fibbing, "I'm fine. I just had a tough day at work. Yep, sure was exhausting sitting in front of a computer all day."

Yumi simply shook her head and said, "Someone desperately needs a nap," before turning back to Akari and asking, "So what's her name?"

"Her name is Fukuko," Akari replied, "She's really nice. She says she might be able to hang out with us after school. Cho and I are thinking of showing her around Tokyo."

"Well isn't that sweet?" Yumi asked as Kenta gave his daughter a weak thumbs up, saying, "That's my girl," his head collapsing and falling into his plate of food as he started to snore.

Yumi let out a sigh and lifted the man's head up, wiping his face with a cloth and lifting him up. The woman then proceeded to hump the man over her shoulders so she could drag him to the couch, Akari hoping her father was okay.

"Oh, almost forgot," the girl added, "I'm going out to a movie with Cho for seven."

Yumi turning to her daughter briefly before shrugging her shoulders and saying, "Have a good time."

Since Akari had always been responsible, Yumi knew better than to ask whether or not the girl had done her homework. If she had homework to do, she would have done it by now.

And soon enough, Yumi was driving Akari to the theatre. Akari had intended to walk there, but with Kenta out like a light, Yumi did not have a lot that she could have been doing at home. And soon enough, the two arrived as the mother gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek, wishing her the best and taking off.

Cho had arrived at that exact moment, saying, "Hey, Akari, did you get a ride too?" the girl nodding with a bright smile on her face.

But just as the two were about to enter, they noticed many people running in panic when suddenly, a fire had formed nearby. The two turned to see the source of all of this, their eyes widening at the sight of a large orange T-Rex with blue stripes around its body, a black skull for a helmet, two horns coming from its head and one horn attached to its snout.

Akari's eyes widened with fear as she girl squeaked, "What is that?" Cho blinking and replying, "It must be a prop for a movie or something."

However, this did not seem the case as the dinosaur opened its mouth, a ball of fire forming inside before flying out of the creature. It soared over the people's heads and hit the theatre, those inside fleeing for their lives. However, with so many inside, it was only natural that a lot of people were still stuck in there.

"Okay, if this was for a movie, they wouldn't go that far," Cho uttered before slowly turning to Akari and exclaiming, "We'd better run!"

Akari nodded and for the first time in years felt terrified out of her mind. Sure, she had always been taught to be positive, but how could she possibly look at this, something that should not have been real, and keep smiling?

However, just as the two were about to bolt like everyone else, Akari noticed that Fukuko just happened to be in the area while this was going on. But why would she be here? After all, she was supposed to be helping her family get organized.

Whatever the case, Fukuko had not noticed them as she had run behind the theatre. Needless to say, Akari was beyond worried as anywhere near the burning structure was dangerous. With that in mind, she ran ahead toward the area with the intention of helping the girl find a better spot while Cho's eyes widened with fear, the blue-haired girl following close behind.

"Are you crazy!?" Cho snapped as Akari exclaimed, "Fukuko's hiding behind the theatre!"

Cho stared in disbelief until the two managed to spot her. However, Fukuko was not looking their way and as such did not see them as she took a deep breath and pulled a small green diamond out of her pocket.

"Fukuko!" Akari called out, the green-haired girl's eyes widening as she spat, "OH NO!" the diamond glowing a brilliant green glow.

Suddenly, Fukuko started to change as her became snow white, big rabbit ears forming on the sides. Her regular clothes vanished and were quickly replaced by a white shoulderless dress. A pair of green gloves formed on her hands as her shoes were replaced by green ones with three claws attached to the front of each one. Finally, a horn stuck up from the top of her head.

Akari and Cho stared at this with confusion as Fukuko bit her lip, uttering, "Oh no, no one was supposed to know about this."

Cho blinked and asked, "What the hell is going on?" Akari nodding and adding, "Yes, I would also like to know what's going on."

"Hold on," Fukuko said before turning toward the building and taking a deep breath, standing on her tip-toes and spinning rapidly while wind formed around her. She then proceeded to launch the twister toward the theatre while shouting, "TERRIER TORNADO!"

Since the twister was small, it was not too effective but it still managed to put out some of the flames, Fukuko summoning more. Since she was still behind the theatre, the fire-breathing dinosaur had not noticed her as soon, the flames blocking the emergency exit were finally out.

With that in mind, the girl immediately sprinted into the building and saw many survivors crowded by the area and trembling in fear while Fukuko exclaimed, "People, I've put out the flames here! You can exit safely now!"

With that in mind, the people all nodded and fled for their lives, all of them beyond grateful. Sure, it was weird seeing a girl wearing what looked like a rabbit costume telling them to leave, but they were in no position to question this and Fukuko was just glad she had managed to help the remaining survivors evacuate.

With that in mind, she proceeded to exit the building, knowing she would not have enough time to put out the rest of the flames before sprinting around the theatre with the intention of taking on the dinosaur before it could escape. Akari and Cho, all the while, decided to follow her.

However, due to her ears giving her enhanced hearing, Fukuko detected them easily as she turned and snapped, "You two! Stay back!" Cho remarking, "Oh no, we're not leaving until you've explained everything!"

"But Cho, she's right," Akari stated, "It's not safe here," Fukuko sighing, "Look, I promise I'll tell you everything. If you have to watch, do so from a distance."

The two nodded while moving so a safer location. All the while, Fukuko stood before the dinosaur who was wildly shooting flames all over the place with a psychotic look in its eyes.

Fukuko took a deep breath and said, "I'm so sorry. I know you don't mean to do this, but there's no other way."

With that, the girl proceeded to open her mouth wide before shouting, "BUNNY BLAST!" unleashing a green ball of energy toward the dinosaur.

Unfortunately, the reptile would not simply allow itself to be hit as it unleashed a fireball toward the incoming energy. The flame easily overpowered it much to Fukuko's dismay as she narrowly dodged to the right in time to avoid being burned to death.

"FUKUKO!" Akari squeaked, holding her arm out only for Cho to hold her back, sighing, "I don't know what's going on, but we've just seen what she can do. She has the power to stop this thing."

However, Fukuko was not completely confident that she could win this battle as she trembled in terror. But she could not let this one blast get her down as she unleashed barrage of energy blasts from her mouth.

The dinosaur simply retaliated with a big wall of flames, the energy balls dissipating after making contact with the fire. However, one managed to get through as it hit the dinosaur hard in the chest, an explosion forming as Fukuko breathed a sigh of relief.

Cho and Akari all the while clapped and cheered, Cho exclaiming, "Direct hit! That was awesome!"

Unfortunately, her relief soon left her, her eyes wide open when she noticed the dinosaur had taken in little to no pain. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and thought, 'Please, give me the power to protect this city.'

With that, a green glow surrounded her as Cho blinked, saying, "Again with the glowing," Akari interested to see what would happen next.

Seeing as the two girls already knew her secret, Fukuko no longer felt like she needed to hide anything from them at the moment as she turned toward them and smirked, saying in a tone just loud enough for them to hear, "Hey, guys, wanna see something cool?"

With that, Fukuko's ears expanded in width and turned green with the tips turning white. A pair of blue jeans formed while her shoes became big white combat boots with three claws still attached to the front. Her hair returned to its original green colour with the horn following suit. Red war markings appeared on her cheeks and a gemstone appeared on her forehead. Her dress vanished and was replaced by a white tube-top to cover her chest while she now wore a bullet belt like a sash. To top it all off, her forearms had been replaced by huge machine guns.

Fukuko had a confident grin on her face while Akari and Cho both stared in shock, Cho uttering, "That is the most awesome thing I have ever seen," Fukuko gazing into the dinosaur's eyes and exclaiming, "YOU READY FOR SECONDS!?"

But even with this new form, would this really be enough to stop the fire-breathing dinosaur? Whatever the case, this certainly looked like a huge upgrade.


	2. Chapter 2

Akari could not believe how this normal day had taken such a strange turn of events. All of this seemed like a horrifying dream. A fire-breathing dinosaur had just suddenly appeared and destroyed the theatre she and Cho were going to and to make things stranger, her new classmate Fukuko had suddenly transformed into some kind of superhero. And now she was toting machine gun arms.

However, this meant she now stood a true fighting chance as she aimed her guns at the dinosaur, shouting, "GARGO PELLETS!" shooting an onslaught of bullets toward the creature.

The dinosaur roared in pain as small holes formed the spots that had been hit, blood trickling down. It certainly seemed that Fukuko's transformation gave her an edge now as she was finally able to do some damage.

Akari and Cho simply watched in silence. Cho had actually pinched herself a couple of times to make sure she was not dreaming this. Neither had a full understanding of what was going on, but at least thanks to Fukuko, they were safe.

However, the dinosaur was not going to give up so easily as it roared angrily, sending fireballs by the dozen toward Fukuko. However, Fukuko easily dodged the incoming flame and sped toward the dinosaur, pointing her guns forward and sending more bullets toward it.

The dinosaur simply lowered its head so its skull helmet could deflect the blasts, but this also distracted it long enough for the girl to get close enough to almost touch it. With that in mind, she leapt up toward the dinosaur's chin and exclaimed, "BUNNY PUMMEL!" sending her right gun into the reptile's chin and unleashing more bullets to add to the pain.

With more holes forming and more blood dripping, the dinosaur could take no more as its eyes rolled to the back of its head. With that, the reptile fell forward and hit the ground hard. Akari gasped in shock while Cho stared with confusion, the dinosaur's body turning into small bits of what looked like data and floating into the air.

Fukuko took a deep breath and slumped down, feeling exhausted. However, when she saw a news crew nearby, she panicked and refused to stay in the area and sprinted away from the area. Cho and Akari nodded at one-another before following close behind.

All the while, a female news reporter stood before the scene and said, "And with that, the mysterious hero has stolen away into the night. But who is this hero, where did that monster come from and where did its corpse go?"

Soon enough, Fukuko found somewhere secluded where she could revert back to her original form before sitting on a nearby bench. She took a deep breath when Akari and Cho approached her, the two having followed her all the way there.

Fukuko turned to them before letting out a sigh and looking down, Cho staring in silence. However, Akari simply walked over to the girl and sat next to her, patting her on the shoulder with a friendly smile.

"I'm..." Fukuko uttered only for Akari to shake her head and reply, "It's okay. You don't have to apologize."

Cho nodded and added, "Yeah, I don't know what's going on, but if I had a secret like that, I'd probably hide it too."

"Thanks for understanding," Fukuko replied with a big smile before letting out a sigh and adding, "Well, it's too late to hide anything, I guess."

With that, Cho took a seat as well, both she and Akari giving their full attention as Fukuko took a deep breath, saying, "That dinosaur that just appeared is a Digimon."

"A what?" Cho asked as Fukuko replied, "A Digimon. It's a monster formed from data."

"You mean like computer data?" Akari asked as Fukuko nodded, explaining, "Yes. I don't really know all the details let alone where they came from, but I know that's what they're called and that's what they're made of."

"But how?" Cho asked as Fukuko shrugged and replied, "I just kind of know. Ever since I got this diamond, this knowledge has just sort of implanted itself in my mind," the girl holding up her green diamond while the other two looked at it with amazement.

"That's what you used to transform, right?" Akari asked.

Fukuko nodded and explained, "I'm not even sure where it came from. I just woke up one morning and there it was next to my bed. I don't really know why, but I just felt the sudden urge to carry it with me everywhere I go."

Cho stared at the diamond with admiration. A part of her wished she could have one of her own so she could fight the Digimon as well, but that was highly unlikely.

"Hold on," Akari uttered, "If they're made of data, how was that dinosaur bleeding?"

Fukuko simply shrugged and replied, "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm guessing at some point, they became actual physical beings."

"But why would they try to hurt us?" Akari asked as Cho added, "Yeah, I'd like to know what we did to make them come here and try to kill us."

"Well, I have reason to believe they might be possessed," Fukuko replied, the others looking at her with confusion as she added, "It happened the first time I fought one of them. Somewhere during the battle, it had a look on its face. I could tell just from the expression that it wanted me to stop it from hurting people, and I keep getting this vibe from all the others. Because of that I know that these Digimon aren't doing this by their own free will."

"That's horrible," Akari whimpered with light tears in her eyes, "They don't deserve to die."

"I hate to admit it, but Akari's right," Cho stated, "Are you sure there isn't another way to stop them?"

Fukuko nodded and replied, "Trust me. I've tried taming them many times but it always fails. Once a Digimon is possessed, it can't be saved. Death is the only answer."

Akari looked like she was about to cry. She had spent so much of her life trying to look on the bright side, but even the thought of these creatures at least going to heaven was not enough for her to accept this. They were losing their lives far too early all because some evil being was controlling them.

However, Fukuko did have a bright side of her own to share as she patted Akari on the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry too much. I have a belief that when a Digimon dies, it's not forever," Akari looking at her and sniffing while the girl continued, "You saw what happened to that dinosaur, right? It turned into data and returned to where it came from. My theory is that when a Digimon dies, it gets reformatted and starts life anew."

"So like reincarnation," Cho replied with a nod as Akari had a light smile on her face. Sure, she still disliked the idea of having the kill the Digimon, but at least there was a bright side to it all.

"Wait, I got one last question," Cho stated, "Is this only happening in Tokyo? In that case, have you only been hunting Digimon for a couple of days?"

Fukuko shook her head and replied, "Actually, they appeared in my hometown as well. Though I notice the attacks stopped five days before I moved, so I think it's safe to say Digimon aren't coming there anymore," the girl then looking down and sighing, "In fact, I'm a little surprised there are Digimon here, let alone the fact that they just suddenly appeared the day I moved in."

The conversation was cut off when Yumi's car raced by the area and screeched to a halt. The owner in question exited the vehicle and turned to Akari with a sigh of relief.

"Mom?" Akari asked as the woman ran over and gave her daughter a hug with tears in her eyes, sniffing, "Oh my god, you're okay! Thank God!"

Akari's eyes were wide open as she wheezed, "Mom, you're crushing me!" the woman letting go and sighing, "Sorry."

"What's this all about?" Cho asked as Fukuko knew exactly what was going on since she remembered that the news crew.

"I saw it on the news," Yumi stated, "The theatre was burned by some kind of monster. I was afraid you might have been inside already."

Cho had to admit that was rather convenient timing for them to not be inside when the dinosaur attacked. Either way, a ride home would certainly be nice after such an intense experience.

"Cho, I'll drive you home," Yumi insisted as Akari's friend was more than happy to accept, but just as they were about to enter, Akari tapped her mother on the shoulder and directed her attention toward Fukuko.

"Oh, so this is that new girl you were talking about," Yumi said as Akari nodded, the woman then walking over to Fukuko with a friendly smile and asking, "Would you like a ride home too?"

Fukuko bit her lower lip and looked down. Akari could tell she was uncertain. However, that uncertainty left her almost instantly when the red-head flashed her a sweet smile, one that just filled Fukuko with a great deal of positivity.

Whatever it was, whatever Akari had done, it seemed to have worked as Fukuko sprang up and entered the car without a moment's hesitation. And as she was being driven, she felt strangely at peace, but why?

Soon enough, with some help of course, Yumi arrived at Fukuko's house as the green-haired girl got off and bowed her head, saying, "Thank you," the woman nodding and replying, "It's nothing. It was very nice meeting you."

And with that, Yumi took off to return Cho to her house while Fukuko breathed a deep sigh before opening the door. Her parents simply gave her a light hello and left it at that. A part of her wished she could have gotten a hug from them like the one Yumi had given Akari, but they did not know she was at the theatre. In fact, because Fukuko went out to defeat Digimon in secret on a regular basis, her parents were just used to it. They figured she just really liked going for long walks.

However, after having been fighting Digimon for a long time, the girl had a question on her mind, one she felt she should have asked a long time ago. With that, she headed up to her room and slumped down on her bed before holding up her diamond in front of her face, her eyes fixated on it.

"Why?" she asked, "Why did you choose me?"

As for Cho, her parents were more than relieved to see she was okay as they had also seen the report. They wasted no time calling up Yumi on her cellphone to express their gratitude for bringing their daughter home safely. Though Cho's father did jokingly ask if she at least slugged the dinosaur a good one before running away in Cho told him he looked too weak to be worth it to which the man was in hysterics. Her mother simply rolled her eyes and told her that after suffering such a traumatic experience, she was free from doing house chores the following day.

Akari came home to the sweet embrace of her father who had actually been woken up by the news report. Just knowing his daughter was okay would at least help him sleep peacefully tonight. Yumi broke up the moment by telling Kenta to get an early sleep so he would be ready for work, and Kenta wasted no time heading upstairs to do just that.

The following morning, Akari was headed to school just as Cho was exiting her house. The two saw each-other and smiled brightly before walking together side-by-side.

After giving a typical greeting and each asking how the other was doing, Cho gave Akari a serious look and said, "You'll never believe what I found next to my bed this morning," the red-head giving her friend an odd look as the blue-haired girl pulled out a diamond that matched her hair colour.

Akari's eyes widened as she squeaked, "The same thing happened to me!" Cho giving her friend an odd look as the girl pulled out a white diamond, adding, "Though this one doesn't match my hair colour like yours and Fukuko."

"Who cares about that?" Cho remarked with excitement in her eyes, "Do you know what this means, Akari!?"

Akari nodded with a big smile and replied, "Yes. It means we can help Fukuko save people. We should tell her as soon as we get a chance."

Normally Akari would be opposed to anything that involved her fighting, but considering this was to save lives and restore the Digimon back to their good selves, she would help out as best as she could. As for Cho, well, she had always fought to protect the weak so this seemed perfect for her.

However, they were unable to tell Fukuko about their diamonds during class as they had to stay focused. With that in mind, they simply decided to reveal the news during lunch.

And after their third class, the girls were seated in the cafeteria with Fukuko who had once again brought a simple lunch, the green-haired girl saying, "Thanks a lot, guys."

"What the heck are you thanking us for?" Cho asked as Fukuko simply gave a light smile and replied, "For keeping my secret."

The other two stared at her as she continued, "I'll admit, I was terrified of anyone ever finding out about that. I thought for sure you guys would blab about it, but you understood why it was important before I could even say anything.

"Well, I'm sure if your family knew what you were doing, they would get worried," Akari stated, "I wouldn't want to upset your parents."

Cho nodded and added, "I'm guessing your line of work is the real reason you couldn't hang out with us, right?" Fukuko nodding and sighing, "Yeah, but that's life for you," the girl smirking and adding, "I can't blame you if you'd rather not be friends with me because of that."

"Are you kidding?" Cho remarked, "You are the coolest person I know. I mean, you're like a superhero or something!"

Akari held her hand up to Cho's mouth and hushed her, the blue-haired girl looking around at the other students, some of which were staring. She let out a nervous laugh and sighed in embarrassment.

Fukuko chuckled as Akari added, "Well, it won't be much of a problem for us to spend time together after school anymore."

Cho nodded with a big grin as Fukuko stared at them with confusion. They were not insinuating what she thought they were, were they?

"Guys, I wouldn't recommend tagging along," the green-haired girl uttered, "This is dangerous work. If I messed up and you got killed-"

"Don't sweat it," Cho replied before reaching into her pocket and adding, "We can help you out."

Fukuko was about to retort when both Akari and Cho pulled out their diamonds while making sure no one else could see them. Fukuko's eyes were wide with shock as the two smiled wide.

"See?" Cho asked before slipping her diamond back into her pocket, "We got some of them diamond things too. That means we can also be superheroes."

Akari nodded and added, "We want to do all we can to help you, Fukuko. I may not be a fighter, but as long as the Digimon don't die forever, I'll do it."

Fukuko had no idea how to respond to this. It was just like her. Shortly after the Digimon had first appeared, the two of them received diamonds. Perhaps this was destiny. Maybe these two were always meant to fight the Digimon in Tokyo and Fukuko moving here before their fates were realized was merely a coincidence.

There might have been even more to this. Perhaps every city on the planet had people like her fighting to protect the innocent from Digimon. After all, it did seem rather strange that these creatures would only target one city at a time. For all she knew, more Digimon had probably appeared in her hometown and she might have been replaced by someone else.

With that in mind, Fukuko did not need to think about this anymore as she had a wide grin on her face, the girl getting up from her seat to embrace the two, exclaiming, "We're gonna kick so much tail together!"

She then noticed the other students looking their way again as she chuckled and added, "You know, we're gonna ace those tests with our new study group and all that."

Akari and Cho laughed as well while Cho said, "This is gonna be great. With three heroes, Tokyo will be even safer."

However, Akari suddenly realized the problem with this as she whimpered, "Oh no, what about our parents? They're not used to us going out every night. They might know something's up," Cho blinking and replying, "You know, you got a point there. Dad and I always watch wrestling on Sundays. I never put that ahead of anything. If I was out doing something else, he'd know something's wrong."

"It's okay," Fukuko replied before taking her binder out of her backpack and opening it up.

After doing so, she pulled out a sheet of paper and ripped it into four pieces, writing a series of numbers on two of them. She then handed one piece with writing and a blank piece to each along with a pencil.

Akari looked over the paper with writing and realized it was a phone number, Fukuko smiling and saying, "This is to keep in touch. If I discover a Digimon in the area and you guys have other things planned, I'll call you up and you come running."

Akari smiled bright as Cho asked, "What about the nights we don't have plans?" Akari suggesting, "I know. We'll tell our parents that we're at the library studying with Fukuko."

Fukuko gladly agreed to that. It would give her a better reason to keep going out every night, not that her parents ever expressed deep concern.

Either way, it was just as Cho said. With three people protecting Tokyo, even the mightiest of Digimon would be cinch. At least that was how Fukuko saw it. After all, she was yet to find an opponent that she could not defeat on her own.


	3. Chapter 3

Once school ended, Akari, Cho and Fukuko were headed home. However, all three agreed to meet up later to patrol for rogue Digimon.

And it was not long until that time came. While Fukuko stayed by their side, the girl said, "Now, I am hoping that by tomorrow, we can maybe split up in order to cover more ground."

"Why not do that now?" Cho asked as the green-haired girl replied, "Simply put, I'm guessing have no idea what powers you possess yet."

Akari and Cho both looked at one-another and nodded. After all, they had only just received their diamonds that morning. They were yet to transform.

"Say, there's something else I need to ask," Cho stated, "Do Digimon only appear during the evening? That seems kind of strange."

"I see your point," Fukuko replied, "and to be honest, I don't really get it myself. I mean, I fought many Digimon in my hometown and they all appeared between five and eleven. And it's not like a lot of them look like they should be nocturnal, either."

Akari simply sported a soft smile and said, "Well, whatever the reason, at least they seem to have a schedule. That makes things easier for us," Cho nodding and replying, "Yep, she's right. If it's convenient, it's not worth questioning."

Fukuko simply snickered and said, "It's amazing how much you two can accept. Most people would have trouble taking all of this in."

However, while the group patrolled, they were relieved to find that there seemed to be no Digimon present in the area. And Fukuko could tell if there was danger nearby. See, due to her having rabbit ears when she transformed, she had developed super-human hearing, so if anyone was suffering, even in her human state, she could hear it.

"Well, seems you won't be seeing your powers in action," Fukuko said with a shrug, "Honestly, I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed."

"Well, I'm a tad disappointed," Cho remarked with a sigh, but Akari was just happy to have spent the evening with Fukuko. Until now, she had been rather worried that she and Cho would never get a chance to see her outside of school.

With all said and done, the girls headed off to their respective homes, coming to Fukuko's first. The green-haired girl happily waved goodbye before heading into her house, the others waving back.

Once she entered, her mother noticed her and said, "Welcome back, Fukuko. Did you learn a lot?" the green-haired girl blinking until she suddenly remembered that her parents thought she was at the library studying.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Fukuko fibbed with a big grin, her father saying, "I just gotta say, it's nice to finally see you making friends. You should invite them over sometime."

"Muto," the girl's mother remarked, "she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."

"What's wrong with a little encouragement?" the man remarked, "I just wanna meet Fukuko's friends. I wanna make sure I can trust them."

Fukuko was rather surprised to hear all of this. Normally, her parents did not seem to care much about what she did outside of school. All the long nights she spent out on the town never bothered them and yet now they were taking interest in her personal life. Perhaps it was because neither of them were used to her going out with friends.

And Muto's words actually stuck in Fukuko's mind. Perhaps she would invite them over sometime, most likely during the weekend before the evening. That way she could see them outside of school for reasons that had nothing to do with her duties.

The following day during lunch, Fukuko had brought up the very subject to Cho and Akari seeing as Saturday was only two days away. And needless to say, both girls were more than happy to go through with this.

"Well, it'll certainly be a nice change of pace," Cho stated with a grin, "and it'll be at a good time too."

"I just can't wait to meet your parents," Akari said with a big smile.

Fukuko simply grinned wide and stated, "I can't believe I've been missing this for so many years. Having friends is awesome," the other two girls chuckling while patting her shoulders.

And so the rest of the day went as always with Fukuko and the others once again out on patrol. But unlike the previous night, a Digimon had actually appeared and was currently terrorizing two kids and their mother.

This one was smaller than the last two as it was the exact size of the kids. It was a strange hairy creature with a big mouth that was wide open and showing razor sharp teeth. It had four bat wings coming out of the sides of its head and wore a spiked bracelet on its right wrist.

The creature was making loud noises and forming shock waves, the mother and kids trying their best to get away. Fukuko frowned and said, "Alright, you two ready?"

Cho nodded as Akari asked, "How do we use our diamonds?" Cho blinking and uttering, "That's actually a good question. That had completely slipped my mind."

Fukuko took a deep breath and replied, "It took me a few minutes to figure it out myself, but all you have to do is think hard about protecting those in need."

Cho smirked and said, "That should be easy," Akari nodding as the two focused hard.

However, while Fukuko managed to transform, for whatever reason, Akari and Cho had not. Their diamonds had not even glowed for a second, but why? Had they done something wrong?

Fukuko was a tad worried but knew she had little time to think about this. As such, she immediately raced toward the bat-like creature and spat, "BUNNY BLAST!" opening her mouth and unleashing a green ball of energy, striking the Digimon hard.

The Digimon screeched in pain while Fukuko easily finished it off with another one, its body turning into data just like that of the dinosaur two nights ago. The mother and kids simply stared at her, smiles forming on their faces as they expressed a great deal of gratitude. But while the mother was grateful beyond measure, the kids were just excited to be in the presence of the superhero who had defeated the dinosaur two evenings ago.

Fukuko simply chuckled and said, "Well, just stay safe," the kids nodding and replying, "We will," before heading home with their mother.

With that, the girl returned to the other two, Akari happy that all had gone well while Cho looked disappointed. She had been looking forward to using her power since she got the diamond and yet it had failed her. But why?

With all said and done, the group headed home as Cho still looked disappointed, Fukuko giving her a look of concern and saying, "Look, don't let this get to you. I'm sure you just weren't focusing hard enough."

Cho let out a sigh and remarked, "No, I was focusing as hard as I possibly could," Akari nodding and adding, "Me too."

Fukuko was drawing a blank right now. She wanted to be more supportive, but this was the first for her. They were the only other diamond-holders she had met. Maybe they needed something else to trigger the transformation.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Fukuko said with a warm smile, "Next time a Digimon attacks, I'm sure you two will be ready."

Akari had a hopeful smile while Cho was unsure now. She really had tried her hardest to get the transformation to activate. She had never been more focused on anything in her life. So why had the transformation failed?

These thoughts stuck with Cho all night and even into the wee hours of the morning. She was so focused on this that she was taking longer than usual getting ready for school. Sure, she still paced herself so she would make it on time. After all, she did not wish to worry her family. But at the same time, her mind was not truly focused on school.

However, just as she was about to leave, her cellphone started to ring. Cho quickly pulled it out of her pocket and held it to her ear, saying, "Hey."

"Hey there, Cho," came Fukuko's voice, Cho's eyes going wide as she said, "Oh, right, you have our numbers now."

"Yeah," Fukuko replied while running through the downtown area and exclaiming, "Look, we might be late for school!"

"Why would all three of us...?" Cho asked as the green-haired girl cut in, stating, "I heard screams of terror coming from the subway station! I know it sounds weird after everything I've told you and seen, but I think there might be a Digimon there!"

Cho's eyes widened as she saw this as a perfect opportunity, the girl pulling her diamond out of her pocket and staring at it briefly while Fukuko asked, "You still there?"

Cho placed the diamond back in her pocket and replied, "You better believe it! I'll be there in a flash!"

Fukuko smiled with confidence and replied, "Good. I've called up Akari already, so don't worry about that."

And with that, Cho immediately sprinted out the door, though she still had her backpack with her so her parents would not catch onto what she was doing. And it was at this moment that Akari was running by, both giving each-other a wave before dashing off toward the subway.

"I can't believe it," Cho said through deep breaths, "I hope they don't make this a regular thing," Akari nodding and replying, "I know what you mean. I've never been late for school before."

"True, but remember, the lives of the innocent are much more important than our attendance record," Cho replied, Akari nodding with a light smile, trying her best to see this as a true bright side.

Right now, a part of her was unsure of whether or not she should sacrifice her perfect attendance for this. On one hand, it was just as Cho said. The lives of the innocent were more important than perfect attendance. But on the other hand, Fukuko had proven herself capable of taking the Digimon on her own. Maybe she did not need their help.

Even so, Akari knew that leaving Fukuko alone for her own personal benefit would have made her a bad friend, so all she could think about right now to helping out and stopping whatever this threat was. After all, with that diamond in hand, it was her duty now.

With that in mind, both arrived at the subway station just as Fukuko had arrived, the green-haired girl grinning at the two and giving them thumbs up before heading down the steps leading underground. Cho and Akari smiled back and followed close behind. Somehow, they were going to get their diamonds to work this time even if it meant focusing harder than ever before.

When the three entered the train station, their eyes widened at the sight of a giant snow-white cobra wrecking havoc. It was a truly horrifying sight with its blood-shot eyes and a horn on its temple. The snake's hood was actually a big purple turtle shell with a silver carapace. In fact, it looked like it was made of metal. It also wore what looked like a green battle vest around its neck and had a purple belly.

Many civilians were still fleeing for their lives while one was caught in the snake's tail, the cobra opening its mouth. Seeing as none of the people were focused on her, Fukuko figured now was as good a time as ever to transform as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her diamond glowing bright.

With that, Fukuko's rabbit ears formed, her hair turning white and her clothes replaced by her dress. The girl was ready as she sprinted toward the snake and leapt high into the air, sending both her feet hard into its cheek.

This seemed to have no effect, but it certainly distracted the creature as it dropped its hostage, the person also fleeing from the area. Fukuko leapt away from the snake and took a deep breath, glad the potential victim had at least escaped.

With that in mind, Akari and Cho nodded at one-another before focusing hard and thinking about helping their new friend out. They were completely focused on protecting the lives of the innocent. And yet despite all of this, nothing seemed to be happening. Just like before, the diamonds were not lighting up nor were the two transforming.

Akari was trembling now as Cho gritted her teeth, Fukuko flashing them a grin and saying, "Don't worry, guys. I got this. You'll get it eventually, I know it."

Of course, Fukuko really had no idea what was going on or if the diamonds would ever work, but even so, she had to focus on defeating this cobra. And she would need to be completely focused as the snake seemed to be giving her a rather strange look, the snake fixated on her.

Fukuko noticed this and felt confused for a few seconds, but she soon figured out what was going on before thinking, 'Oh yeah, I'm part rabbit in this state.'

With that, she gulped nervously as the cobra opened its mouth wide, lunging at her. However, Fukuko was fast and this proved very useful as she leapt over the snake's head, kicking it in the skull. However, just like before, her kick seemed to have had no effect.

With that in mind, she quickly opened her mouth as a green ball of energy formed, the girl shouting, "BUNNY BLAST!" and unleashing the energy hard into the snake's face, smoke forming around it.

Unfortunately, Fukuko seemed to have done absolutely nothing as the snake burst through the smoke and lunged at her again, the girl dodging just in time as the Digimon snapped its jaws at her. It was just as she suspected. This snake wanted Fukuko for breakfast.

With that in mind, the girl continued to avoid her attacks while Akari cupped her hands together, hoping for the best. Seeing another energy ball fail to deal damage, Cho simply gritted her teeth and spat, "HEY, YOU MIGHT WANNA BECOME THAT OTHER FORM!"

Fukuko nodded and replied, "Yes, it's clear this one's not doing me any good," before closing her eyes and thinking, 'Please, spirit of the diamond. Give me the power to protect this city.'

With that, a brilliant green glow covered the girl's body as she changed form just like she had when fighting the fire-breathing dinosaur. Her forearms were replaced by machine guns and she now wore a tube top, blue jeans and a bullet belt like a sash.

The cobra seemed unfazed by this as the girl once again avoided being eaten. With that, she proceeded to aim her left arm at the snake while shouting, "GARGO PELLETS!"

With that, she unleashed a barrage of bullets from the machine gun. However, while these had a great effect on the dinosaur, the cobra seemed to have taken in no damage whatsoever. It did not wince, it did not flinch and not one bullet hole appeared on its body.

"Oh no," Akari whimpered, fear taking over as Fukuko gave her a nervous grin and said, "Don't worry. Physical force should work. After all, these guns are made from solid metal, right?"

Cho's eyes widened as the snake took full advantage of Fukuko's back being turned to her. However, the girl had seen this coming and was actually hoping for it as she smirked and leapt high off of the ground, sending a hard punch into the cobra's chin.

"BUNNY PUMMEL!" Fukuko exclaimed as the snake actually did show a slight reaction to this. Sure, it was not much, but its chin was forced slightly upward from the impact proving that this had at least done some damage.

Akari beamed and clapped while squealing, "Way to go, Fukuko!" Cho wanting to be as enthusiastic right now. However, she felt rather worried as Akari turned to her and asked, "What's wrong? She finally did some damage?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't much damage," Cho replied, gritting her teeth and growling, "I should be in there helping her out! Why can't I transform!?"

Akari had almost let that slip her mind, and Cho was right. Despite doing some damage, Fukuko looked like she still needed help.

However, the green-haired girl did not want her new friends to worry. As such, she proceeded to strike the snake a second time, this time causing it to back up a small distance as she said, "Guys, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

However, just as she was about to send in another punch, the cobra had already seen enough of her attack to dodge it with ease. Fukuko's eyes widened as the snake proceeded to grab her ankles with its tail, slamming her back hard against the floor.

"FUKUKO!" Akari squeaked as Cho clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

Feeling useless, the blue-haired girl proceeded to charge toward the snake. Sure, Fukuko would not have approved of fighting a Digimon in her human state, but right now, Cho had no time to try and figure out how the diamond worked.

Unfortunately, this proved ineffective as the snake easily whipped her to the side, sending her into the wall where the train tracks were and hissing menacingly. It was a good thing the trains had been stopped in response to the attack otherwise Cho could have been at risk of being run over.

Akari screamed in terror and ran over to Cho's side, helping her up and carrying her off the tracks. It seemed neither of the two were of any help right now. It was so unfair. The two of them had the means of which to help Fukuko defeat the Digimon and yet for some reason, they were unable to use them.

Fukuko looked at her friend briefly with concern before noticing the snake looming over her, opening its mouth wide. As the cobra proceeded to lower its head, bringing it closer and closer to the girl, Fukuko simply threw her fists up in an arch formation, sending each one into one of the cobra's cheeks.

Unfortunately, the snake completely ignored the pain as Fukuko desperately pointed both guns at its open mouth, unleashing a barrage of bullets. Unfortunately, despite aiming into the Digimon's mouth this time, her bullets once again had no effect, Cho regaining consciousness just in time to witness what happened next, Akari's eyes going wide with terror.

Fukuko's head was now in the cobra's mouth as the green-haired girl struggled to free herself. She slammed her machine guns repeatedly into the cobra's cheeks but to no avail as the Digimon threw its head up and opened wider. This allowed Fukuko's entire body to slide into its throat as it closed its mouth tight, swallowing the girl whole.

All went silent as Akari's entire body started to shake. Tears formed in her eyes as her lips started to quiver, the girl sniffing. She could not believe what she had just seen.

However, while Cho was also saddened by this, more of her was filled with anger and frustration. She felt as if this had been partly her fault, her teeth gritted and her fists clenched all the while.

It was at this moment her diamond started to glow as she exclaimed, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU BASTARD!"

The snake was now fixated on Cho started to change. Her hair became a slightly lighter shade of blue while dog ears sprouted up from the top. A red headband formed and wrapped itself around the top of her head. Light with Fukuko, her regular clothes vanished and were soon replaced, though instead of a dress, she was wearing a blue open fighter's vest with a black tube top to cover her chest. She sported a pair of black shorts as a small dog tail of the same colour stuck out of her rear end. A pair of boxing gloves formed on her hands while her shoes were replaced by red runners, her transformation now complete.

Akari stared in shock, now curious as to why the diamond had worked this time when hers still would not work. Cho, however, did not even care that she had transformed as she was much too focused on avenging Fukuko.

With that in mind, she sprinted quickly toward the cobra with her right fist reeled back. Just as the snake decided it may as well make her its next meal, the girl waited for its head to get close enough before ramming her fist hard into its skull.

Despite the fact that her form should have technically been weaker than Fukuko's second form had been, this ended up dealing much more pain as the cobra winced in response to the hit. With that, Cho refused to let up as she held out her arms, spinning like a top and exclaiming, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!"

With that, her fists batted the cobra's cheek repeatedly, the snake's head reeling to the side. After a few good hits, it backed up and glared at the blue-haired girl while Akari bit her lip, hoping this really would be enough to stop this threat.

However, things took a turn for worse when the cobra reached its tail down its throat and pulled out lance with a purple spearhead on the end. Akari was horrified now and yet Cho did not seem the least bit intimidated. Right now, she was too infuriated to care what her opponent threw at her.

The cobra jabbed the weapon toward the girl only for her to dive forward and roll under it. With that, she proceeded to ram her body hard into the snake's chest while shouting, "ROLLING UPPER!"

Before the cobra could even try to respond, Cho proceeded to send punch after punch into its body, exclaiming, "GAO RUSH!" the cobra unable to comprehend how it was taking in so much damage from her.

And with one last blow to the face, the snake was out cold, Akari breathing heavily at the sight of this. The cobra's body turned into data and floated into the air, vanishing from the area while Cho fell on one knee, her hand against the floor while she breathed heavily and returned to her normal state.

However, while she had won the fight, there was still something wrong. A part of her was really hoping that Fukuko would still be alive when the cobra's body vaporized. After all, it was a well-known fact that it days for snakes to digest their food.

Unfortunately, the only thing that remained of the girl was her diamond, which had a bright glow around it. The light formed into the shape of a pudgy rabbit with a horn.

Akari and Cho stared at this with confusion until the diamond shattered, the rabbit shape becoming dust and blowing out of the area. Whatever that was, it was clear what this meant. Fukuko was dead.

However, while Akari still had tears in her eyes, Cho gritted her teeth and let down even more. She then proceeded to clutch onto the sides of her skull and let out a loud cry into the air. Not only was she stricken with grief for the loss of her new friend but she also felt like this was all her fault, that if she had figured out how to get her diamond to work earlier this never would have happened.


	4. Chapter 4

The end of the school week had not been a day to celebrate, that was for sure. Since the people had already seen the appearance of the Digimon, Akari and Cho were able to tell people most of what had happened to Fukuko. They did, of course, leave out the fact that she was the hero who had been protecting everyone as they knew she would not want her parents knowing about that.

Nevertheless, the fact that she had been eaten by a giant snake on her way to school certainly checked out. Due to these events, the school staff allowed the girls to stay home and recuperate as they figured the two would be far too distracted by the death of their new friend to concentrate.

Akari refused the offer. She simply could not allow herself to miss a day of school even if her tardiness had ruined her perfect attendance. Cho, on the other hand, was feeling too down in the dumps to focus on school work and as such headed home.

It was not just the passing of Fukuko that got to her, though. She was still beating herself up over this, feeling that all of this was her fault.

And while Akari did stick around for what remained of the school day, she was certainly having trouble concentrating. Some of the other students regretted not getting to know Fukuko better, sure, but Akari was taking all of this far worse than they did. And it made sense. She had actually gotten close to Fukuko and was just getting to know her.

However, despite all of her negative feelings, she still tried to maintain a smile. After all, she had always been taught to think positively. There had to be a bright side to all of this and a part of her wanted to find that so she could at least keep herself from being depressed her whole life. After all, Fukuko would not have wanted that.

The following day, Cho called up Akari. It seemed she had been crying all night, her parents having tried to calm her down many times after she returned home. Needless to say, they were not used to their daughter being this upset, but they certainly could not blame her.

Akari answered her phone and said, "Hi, Cho," her friend taking a deep breath and sighing, "Hey, Akari, could you come over?"

Just as the redhead was about to answer, she could hear Cho sniffing. It was clear that her friend was trying to hold back even more tears right now. She needed a friend by her side more than ever before.

Akari simply smiled and replied, "Of course. I'll be over as soon as I can."

As the girl headed downstairs, Yumi noticed her and asked, "Where are you off to?"

"I'm off to Cho's," the girl replied with a bright smile, "She needs moral support."

Yumi nodded and took a deep breath, saying, "Understandable," a smile forming on her face as she added, "I'm impressed you're able to keep smiling. If I lost a friend, I'd have much more trouble with that."

"Well, you've always told me to look on the bright side," Akari stated, "and I've found a really bright side to all of this. I'm sure if I tell Cho of it, it might cheer her up as well."

The mother simply nodded again and said, "Well, I hope so. Not everyone can be positive under such circumstances."

And soon enough, Akari was at Cho's house with the two sitting on her bed. Cho had finally stopped letting down tears and was simply staring at the floor while Akari had a light smile on her face, patting her on the shoulder.

"I envy you," Cho uttered, "Thanks to your upbringing, you can smile even when you're sad. I wish I could do that."

"Well, you could," Akari replied, "I'm just simply reminding myself that Fukuko is up in heaven right now probably having a wonderful time. She no longer has to carry the burden of saving people."

Cho simply formed a weak smile and nodded her head, saying, "Yeah, that's true," the smile quickly fading as she added, "Thanks so much for stopping by. You've always been a great help to me."

"Really?" Akari asked as the blue-haired girl nodded and replied, "Well, yeah. I may have saved your from bullies, but you always manage to bring light to dark days for me. It was you who helped me get through elementary school and realize just how smart I was. You've done far more for me than you could ever imagine."

Akari's smile brightened, a light blush forming on her face. She was glad to at least hear her friend talk about something else, and it certainly felt good that she had truly been of help all these years.

"By the way, I finally figured out why my diamond didn't activate before," Cho said as Akari looked with curiosity, the blue-haired girl adding, "See, I may have thought really hard about protecting those in need, but before, I simply wanted to be important. I was much more focused on just having powers and doing cool things than actually protecting people."

Akari's eyes went wide as Cho stated, "When Fukuko died, it made me realize just how serious this job is. Now that I can use my powers, I want to make sure no one ever has to deal with the same fate she does. I'll have to sacrifice Sunday night wrestling, but that's a small price to pay."

Cho's look of sadness had become that of passionate fury. She had never been more serious about anything. Fukuko may have died, but there was no way Cho was going to let it be in vain. She would carry on the legacy of her friend no matter how much it messed with her life.

"Well, it's good to know you figured that out," Akari said with a warm smile before looking at her diamond and sighing, "Though it still doesn't explain why mine won't work."

Cho took a deep breath before shooting her friend an even more serious look. Akari stared with confusion when Cho placed a firm grip on her shoulders and stared into her eyes.

"Akari, I want you to know I am telling you this as a friend," Cho stated, "The reason your diamond's power won't work is because you're a wimp!"

Akari's eyes went wide as she squeaked, "What do you mean?" Cho sighing, "Be honest with me, Akari? Did you ever truly want to fight Digimon?"

"I want to protect people," Akari uttered only for Cho to retort, "That's not what I'm asking! I know you had every intention of helping to save people, but were you ever willing to accept the fact that you would have to fight in order to do so!?"

Akari was at a loss for words right now. A part of her wanted to cry, but she held back not because of her positive attitude but because deep down, she knew Cho had a point.

"I knew it," Cho said, "Look, Akari, your positive outlook on things, your tendency to always look for a bright side to everything, it's nice. Again, it's gotten me through hard times, but at the same time, it's just an idea."

"I don't understand," Akari whimpered only for Cho to take a deep breath before adding, "I know deep down inside, you're thinking there must be a better solution, that maybe if we try hard enough, we can return the Digimon to normal without having to kill them first, that we can stop them from having to relive their lives from infancy."

"But I never told Fukuko what she was doing was wrong," Akari stated, Cho remarking, "True, but you were thinking it. You secretly believed Fukuko had not tried hard enough to tame them. You never truly believed that killing them was the answer."

Akari stared silently for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and looking down. Seeing this, Cho had a more sympathetic look.

But just as she was about to apologize for lashing out, she simply frowned and exclaimed, "Akari, I'm sorry, but until you can find the courage to stand up and fight, you'll never be able to help out! Believe it or not, killing these Digimon is the only way to stop them from hurting people! You might not like it, but that's just how it is, and since we can no longer risk waiting for nightfall, I'm going out to patrol right now! Feel free to join me when you finally accept reality!"

With that, Cho marched out of her room as Akari held out her hand. Cho's parents watched her leave with concern as Akari ran downstairs to stop her but was too late.

"What's going on?" Cho's mother asked as Akari took a deep breath and said, "She still needs to work things out, that's all."

And with that, Cho was walking around Tokyo on high alert. It seemed that with her new form being a dog, her sense of smell had increased significantly and as such, she could use that to scope out anything unusual.

How would she recognize a Digimon's scent, though? As it just so happened, this was a similar case to how she came up the various fighting moves and their names that she had used when fighting the cobra. It just came to her the minute she took on her new form for the first time. She had no idea why but with things the way they were, she hardly cared. It was convenient. That was all she needed to know.

Though right now, there were no Digimon present. Cho was relieved to at least know that much, but she had no intention of returning home until she found one and took it down.

During this time, Akari had returned home and was trying her best to maintain her smile while staying in her room for privacy. However, this proved difficult as not only was she feeling worried for Cho but the blue-haired girl's words had really gotten to her.

All her life, Akari had believed that with every horrible thing, there was always a bright side, that nothing was as bad as people made it out to be. She truly believed all this time that if she thought hard enough, she would find a way to stop these rogue Digimon without having to fight them. Perhaps Cho was right. Maybe this was the reason her diamond did not work.

And even right now, she had done her best to stay positive after Fukuko's death, not to let it get her down. Unfortunately, she was having a lot of trouble holding back her sadness now. Right now, she was thinking the same thing Cho was, that if she had just accepted her responsibilities, Fukuko would still be alive.

With that in mind, she headed downstairs and noticed Yumi outside water some plants. With that in mind, Akari took a deep breath and opened the front door, her mother turning to her and smiling softly.

"Going somewhere?" she asked as Akari sighed, "I'm not really sure yet."

Yumi now looked worried as Akari now had a look of uncertainty in her eyes. This was not a look that she showed often. Even when she was unsure of something, she would rarely ever show it.

Yumi decided to put her gardening work to the side for now as she walked over to her daughter and gave her a hug, asking, "Honey, what's wrong? You're having trouble staying positive, aren't you?"

Akari shook her head and replied, "That's not it," her mother now very curious as the redhead asked, "Mom, say you have something you really have to do, something so important that nothing else matters. But the way of going about it is horrible and would require you to cause someone harm and no matter how hard you try, you can't find a more peaceful solution. Would you still do it?"

Yumi's eyes widened at the sound of such a question. What an odd thing for her daughter to ask her. But this was a subject she had thought about before.

"Akari, honey, why would you ask me that?" the woman asked only for Akari to stare into her eyes, not giving an answer. Yumi could see just how serious her daughter was about this but at the same time, she could also tell that this was not something Akari could just talk about.

With that in mind, the woman took a deep breath and rested her hands against the redhead's shoulders while saying, "I have always taught you to be positive, to find a nice way to resolve problems, that no matter what the circumstances, there would always be a peaceful solution. But it's true that not everything can be resolved peacefully."

Akari was not sure how to feel about this until her mother added, "If the task you are to perform really is that important, if you don't have much of a choice in the matter, then the right choice would be to do it even if it goes against everything you believe in. For all you know, you could end up with a better result than you could have ever imagined."

Akari nodded and gave her mother a bright smile, squeaking, "Thank you so much, Mom! I know just what to do now!"

With that, the girl sprinted off from the house. She was feeling much more positive right now and besides, to the best of her knowledge, none of the deaths Fukuko and Cho had caused were permanent.

During this time, Cho was still scouted when her nose picked up on something off. She smelled a big burning smell to the West, and among the burning was something off. With that in mind, she immediately ducked into an alleyway between two buildings and as her diamond glowed.

With Cho now in her fighting gear with boxing gloves and dog ears, she was ready as she raced toward the scene. Feeling like she was not moving fast enough, she decided to experiment and go down on all fours and much to her amazement, this actually allowed her to run faster.

And sure enough, just a few blocks away from where Cho had started from, many houses were being lit on fire by what looked like a huge phoenix with razor sharp fangs and its entire body engulfed in flames. The news team was at the scene at a safe distance while a woman stood before the camera and said, "And we are live at the scene of yet another monster attack, and this time we are being attacked by a creature only heard of in legends."

The bird flapped its wings and unleashed an onslaught of fireballs throughout the area, many houses catching flame while the citizens fled for their lives while the reporter continued, "This beast is causing even more damage than the dinosaur who burned down the theatre. But I know there is only one question on everyone's mind: where is the heroic rabbit girl who has been keeping us safe all week?"

Akari noticed this on a big TV on the side of a building and recognized the general area. With that in mind, she knew exactly where to go now.

But while Akari was still trying to get to the location, Cho arrived just in time, the phoenix not noticing her. With that in mind, the girl wasted no time propelling herself off the ground with her fist at the ready, ramming it hard into the Digimon's cheek, sending it flying into one of the burning buildings.

Everyone stared in shock as the reporter exclaimed, "What's this!? A new hero has arrived!" Cho landing firmly against the ground and taking a deep breath. However, her moment of peace would not last as she noticed her glove was on fire, the girl quickly swinging her arm around until it flew off, turning into a liquid state.

Cho breathed heavily, her confidence starting to leave her. It seemed the fire surrounding the bird's body was not just for show and unless Cho could find a way around this, she would likely burn to a crisp before she could even come close to stopping it.

However, the girl simply shook her head and grunted, "Snap out of it, Cho! It has an obvious weak spot!"

At this moment, the phoenix had now directed all of its attention toward Cho. And with that, it proceeded to flap its wings vigorously in her direction, the girl dodging the incoming fireballs with ease. Once she was close enough, she once again propelled herself high into the air, this time aiming for the phoenix's beak.

However, she also wanted to make this quick, so rather than setting up a single punch, she instead proceeded to spin her body around with her arms spread out while shouting, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!"

However, the phoenix was not dumb and reckless and as such, it proceeded to flap its tail feathers like a fan. This allowed it to build up a great deal of smoke in order to blind Cho's vision. After that, the phoenix proceeded to reposition its body just enough so that Cho ended up hitting its torso instead of its face.

Before Cho could even realize what was going on, her remaining boxing glove had hit that very spot thus bursting into flame. Her attack stopped completely when her exposed fist connected the second hit, Cho taking in a fierce burn as she cried out in agonizing pain.

With that, the phoenix proceeded to lift up its talons before striking the girl in the gut and sending her careening into the concrete below. The citizens stared in absolute horror as even the news crew was trembling.

"Well, no one knows where this new hero came from," the reporter stated after regaining her calm composure, "but she is certainly not as much help as the rabbit girl from before. But where is that rabbit girl now and why is she not helping her comrade in her time of need?"

'I can't do this!' Cho thought while the phoenix spread its wings out, ready to finish her off, 'If only I had long-ranged attacks like Fukuko! Then I could actually hurt this thing!'

But just as the phoenix was about to strike, another girl bound into the area, the reporter staring and saying, "Well, it seems yet another hero has appeared, but will this one be able to accomplish what the other has failed to do?"

And as it just so happened, the woman's words were correct as this new person was certainly not your ordinary girl. Rather than clothing, she had tufts of fur covering her up. One of these tufts was in the form of a tube top that covered her chest while another was in the form of a speedo. She also had two fur shoes that resembled cat feet. On her hands were bit yellow gloves with red streaks and large cat claws attached to each finger. He also had a long white tail with purple strips and a ring around the tip. Her hair was white and to top it off, the girl had a nice set of cat ears.

Cho stared in bewilderment as the girl leapt high toward the phoenix while shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!" swinging her claws downward and slashing them across the Digimon's chest.

Blood flew out as the phoenix cried out in pain, the girl landing before Cho and taking a deep breath. With that, she turned to her with a big smile and said, "Get up. The Cho I know would never give up so easily."

Cho recognized both the face and voice immediately as her eyes widened, the blue-haired girl uttering, "Akari?"

The girl nodded and held out her arm, Cho smirking and taking hold of her hand. Akari lifted her up and said, "Look, I still don't want to fight these Digimon, but I'll do it if I have to."

Cho stared silently for a few seconds before a grin formed on her face. However, that grin became a look of confusion as she asked, "Wait, you just made direct contact with that bird. How are you not burning?"

Akari simply blinked and said, "I don't know. I guess I just got away fast enough to avoid touching the flames."

However, both noticed the phoenix was still alive and ready to strike back. Akari was not going to allow it to cause even more damage and as such, she was poised for attack.

"Wait," Cho uttered, Akari turning to her as the blue-haired girl smirked and added, "I'll give you a bit of extra power to finish the job."

Akari smiled wide and nodded before leaping backwards. Cho held her hands up and took hold of her friend's feet before flinging her high into the air toward the phoenix. With that, Akari crossed both sets of claws and just as she got close enough, she spread them out thus putting a variety of cuts across the phoenix's body.

The bird's eyes widened as it let out a loud cry of pain. However, for a brief second, Akari could see a grateful look on its face as if deep down, it wanted her to kill it. It was just as Fukuko had said: these Digimon were not in full control of their actions and knew there was no other way.

And on that note, the phoenix's body turned into data and flew out of the area, the reporter saying, "Well, I have no idea where these two heroes came from or where that rabbit girl went, but I certainly feel safer knowing we have not one but two heroes protecting Tokyo," the citizens all cheering. Right now, they were too thrilled by the defeat of the phoenix to care that their homes had just been destroyed.

After Akari landed next to Cho, the blue-haired girl gave her a hug and let down light tears, saying, "I'm so sorry, Akari. I know I said some really hurtful things before."

"Don't apologize," Akari replied with a warm smile, "You were right. I was afraid to accept the truth, but I'm not scared anymore. I may not like it, but I know this is the only way."

Cho then smirked and said, "You know you're practically naked, right?" Akari's cheeks bright pink while Cho laughed.

But before the two could leave the reporter took full advantage of their presence by asking them a few questions. And of course, many people were watching this from home including Akari and Cho's parents.

Yumi was fixated on the cat girl on screen as he said, "Hey, Kenta, that one looks kinda like Akari," the father scratching his head and asking, "What are you talking about? That girl has white hair and cat ears."

"Do you girls know what happened to the other hero, you know, the one with the rabbit ears?" the reporter asked.

"Yes," Akari replied with a sad look on her face, "She was a good friend of ours. See, she was killed by one of those monsters recently."

However, in order to lighten the mood, Cho simply took hold of the microphone and stated, "Fear not, citizens! We may have lost one of our own, but that doesn't mean Tokyo is doomed! As long as we're around, you have nothing to fear!"

At this moment, Cho's father said, "Hey, that blue one's voice sounds kind of like Cho's, doesn't it?" the mother nodding and replying, "You're right, it does. Must be a coincidence."

"Well, that is certainly encouraging to hear," the reporter said with a smile, "With these new heroes protecting us, Tokyo is once again safe!"

And with that, the two girls proceeded to walk home, returning to their original states when no one was around. Both said nothing more as they were just happy that things had turned out for the best. But even so, would things really be easier from here on out or was this only the beginning?


	5. Chapter 5

Things were starting to look up now that Akari and Cho could both use their new powers. Sure, it took them a while to get over Fukuko's death, but they knew she would not want them to suffer. If anything, she would have been happy knowing they were able to follow in her footsteps even if they did not yet know how to go beyond their first forms like she could.

However, they knew things would not be so easy once Monday came and school had started up again. With Digimon no longer following a schedule, there was a chance one would attack during school hours. As such, Cho had her nose on high alert.

When Math began, the teacher stepped up to the front of the class saying, "I know this might seem rather sudden, students, but we have another new student joining us. She has just recently transferred schools and I'd like you all to treat her with respect."

With that, the teacher signalled a young skinny girl wearing glasses to enter the classroom. She also had blond hair in a mushroom haircut.

As she stood before the class, everyone could see her trembling all over as the teacher said, "Her name is Chise and she has come here from Omori High," the woman then turning to her and asking, "Would you care to introduce yourself to the class?"

Chise gulped and looked around at all the students, looking like she was going to faint. Cho and Akari looked at her with worry as she uttered, "H-Hello. I-I-I'm Chise. It-it's very n-nice to meet y-y-you."

The teacher could see this girl was not going to say anything else as she said, "Well, take a seat. You can have that one since it's no longer being used," pointing at the desk next to Akari.

While this was originally Fukuko's spot in the classroom, Akari did not mind this. After all, it would have been petty and childish to think it wrong for anyone else to sit there.

Chise, on the other hand, was nervous beyond compare. How did she know those sitting near her could be trusted? What if they did not like her? What if they called her names or started picking on her for no reason?

However, she knew better than to question authority and as such took a seat, staring quietly at the front of the class. Akari simply gave her a friendly smile, but Chise was even more frightened after seeing that. For all she knew, that could have been an act to lower her guard.

The next two classes did not go much better. In Science class, everyone had to work in partners while mixing chemicals. Chise was absolutely terrified of the thought and as such, she found herself having trouble holding the beakers and needed her partner to stop her from having chemicals blow up in her face.

When it came time to physical education, Chise was even worse. Not only was it difficult for her to play on a team but she was far too nervous to play sports and as such was told to spend the rest of the class on the sidelines after less than five minutes. Needless to say, both Akari and Cho were concerned. This Chise seemed like she needed a friend.

And it seemed even worse as while everyone else was eating lunch in the cafeteria, Chise was nowhere in sight. Cho and Akari looked around as Akari asked, "Where could she have gone?"

"Hold on," Cho replied before sniffing the air, Akari's eyes sparkling as the girl squealed, "You know her scent!?"

"Oh, right," Cho uttered while still sniffing, a big smile forming as she started to drool, the girl sighing, "But I do smell beefsteak. I envy whoever brought that."

Akari simply snickered before adding, "Unfortunately, I'm not much help. The only thing that's improved since I got my power is eyesight."

The girl then shook her head and said, "Maybe it's best we don't get involved. She's probably just nervous after having moved to a new school."

It was probably for the best that the girls did not spend the entire lunch period looking for Chise as she was farther from the cafeteria than anyone could have imagined. She was not in some secluded area in the hallway or another room but rather she was currently eating outside in the middle of the outdoor soccer field. She wanted no interactions with anyone.

'I'm sorry, Mom,' Chise thought with a look of shame on her face, 'I know you said I should make friends this time, but I can't do it, not after what happened.'

The girl then remembered a time back at Omori. It seemed ever since the girl was five, she had always been afraid of interacting with others. In fact, she was so bad with people that she had to be home-schooled until she turned thirteen. At this point, her mother decided it was time for her to finally get over her fear of the outside and make some friends and thus enlisted her in public school.

On her first day, Chise decided that she would not let her mother's efforts be in vain. As such, she decided to get over her fears and try talking to people. Unfortunately, she was terrible at it and constantly stuttered. She would always run away just as she was getting on the right track.

That was until one particular girl walked over to her and asked her to hang out. This particular girl was Airi and she was often considered the hottest in school due to her perfect complexion, long flowing hair and naturally blue eyes. Chise could not believe she of all people would even consider talking to someone as awkward as her.

However, she simply nodded her head as a light smile formed on her face. After all, this was just the step in the right direction she needed.

When Airi introduced her to her friends, all of which were popular among the other students of course, Chise felt like she was on top of the world. Suddenly, her fear left her as she finally started talking coherently, finally feeling like she belonged and all of this had taken less than a whole day of school.

But just as quickly as her progress came, it was shattered. As it just so happened, Airi and her friends had merely set up Chise for a childish prank. She did not quite remember all the details, but their stunt resulted in her being covered in garbage after joining them in the cafeteria. All of the students present were in hysterics upon seeing this as some even took pictures of her in this state.

From that moment on, Chise swore that she would never interact with anyone aside from her mother ever again. She knew her mother did not want this as the woman had assured her time and time again that not everyone was like that. But even so, Chise could not run the risk of having something so horrible happen again.

And the rest of the day was just like this with Chise struggling to stay focused on her class work. She was terrified of something going wrong. She wished she could live up to her mother's expectations and make at least one friend, but she was too afraid to go that extra mile.

Once school was over, though, Akari noticed Chise heading out of class first before asking, "Do you detect any Digimon?" Cho sniffing and replying, "Nope."

"Good, then we have nothing else to worry about at the moment," the redhead said with a smile.

With that, the two followed Chise to her locker and simply stood there with friendly smiles on their faces, Akari saying, "Hello. You're Chise, right?"

The blond-haired girl winced and slowly turned to them, biting her lip as Cho took a deep breath. She turned to Akari, knowing she would be much better at talking to someone like this.

"Hi, I'm Akari," the redhead said with a friendly smile, "And this is my best friend, Cho. It's nice to meet you."

Chise, however, did not respond. She simply stared at the two while trying to hide her fear. Unfortunately, she was not very good at this as both girls very quickly caught on. However, they had a feeling it might not be a good idea to just bring up her shyness.

With that in mind, Akari looked at the blue sweater she was wearing and said, "That's a really nice sweater. It looks good on you," Cho nodding and adding, "Yeah, that's my favourite colour," pointing at her hair.

Chise simply blinked and uttered, "T-t-thank you," as she did not wish to be rude and not dignify that with a response. However, a blush shortly formed on her face as she did rather like being complimented by someone other than her mother.

"Would you like us to show you around Tokyo sometime?" Cho asked, "We can get rather busy at times, but I'm sure we could find the time to do that."

Chise's eyes went wide at the sound of this. As nice as the offer sounded, it seemed too good to be true. There was no way she would allow herself to fall into such a trap again but she could not just run off without dignifying their question with a response.

"T-thank you for the o-offer, b-b-but I d-don't have time f-f-for that today," Chise uttered.

Cho turned to Akari and shrugged, the redhead simply smiling bright and nodding her head before saying, "Okay. Maybe some other time."

"Y-yeah, s-s-sure," Chise replied, her face beet red as she quickly took what was needed out of her locker and bolted from the area. Cho's eyes went wide as she had a feeling getting through to Chise would be more difficult than they first thought.

However, with school out this hardly mattered as both girls needed to think about preparing for any upcoming Digimon attacks while also finishing their homework by tomorrow. As such, the two decided to get their homework taken care of together at Akari's house before heading off to patrol for the rest of the evening.

"I never asked," Akari said on the way there, "How did your Dad react when you refused to watch wrestling with him?" Cho shrugging and replying, "He just taped it. He figured I was still grieving over the death of Fukuko and didn't question it. Not sure if I'll be so lucky every Sunday from now on, though."

During this time, Chise was almost home as her eyes darted back and forth. As if her lack of social skills was not bad enough, she was even more paranoid whenever she headed home. It was fine for the first year of school as her father was still with her and mother always had time to pick her up at the end of the day. Now that her father was dead, Chise's mother had to work now and as such, the girl had to come home on her own from now on.

Once she entered her house, she breathed a sigh of relief. Since her mother was not home from work yet, she had the house to herself for a while. As such, she decided to watch some TV, figuring she could do her homework later when her mother was home to help her if needed.

It was at this very moment that a Digimon had suddenly appeared downtown, so when Chise turned the TV on, a news report about the attack was the first thing she saw. The girl's eyes widened as she found herself strangely fixated on the screen, but why? After seeing more than one report of Digimon attacks, she knew full well that this threat was very much real and that this was not a monster movie or a TV show, so why did this not scare her?

It was because deep down, she knew what would happen next and right on cue, two super-powered girls appeared, one part-dog and the other part-cat. Chise's mouth was now hanging open as she watched the two battle it out with a big cockroach that was raining garbage down upon the city. Of course, like everyone else, she had no idea these two heroes were Cho and Akari.

"Dammit, we were this close to entering our homes!" Cho cursed before sending a barrage of punches into the bug's gut, Akari delivering a fierce slash from her claws thus finishing the job, the cockroach's body becoming data and floating out of the area.

Akari took a deep breath while Cho sat down and started scratching under her human ear with her foot, a bit of dirt falling out. She then proceeded to scratch vigorously against her hair to get even more dirt and various types of garbage out of it, the girl groaning, "That was the worst one yet!"

Akari giggled as Cho let out a sigh before breaking out into hysterics herself. The important thing was that they had won, though Cho would certainly have to come up with some kind of excuse as to why she smelled like garbage.

"They're so cool," Chise uttered while still fixated on the screen, "I wish I could be brave like them."

At that moment, her mom came home. She was a lovely lady with a fairly short stature and short blond hair similar to Chise's and her name was Yae.

Chise turned the TV off before heading to the door to greet her, bowing her head. All the while, she was secretly hoping her mother would not ask her anything but she knew it was inevitable.

"Hello, Chise," the woman said in response, "How was your day?"

"It was okay," Chise uttered, hoping her mother would not ask more only for the woman to add, "Are the people there nice?" Chise biting her lip.

Her mother could tell she was hiding something and put on a look of concern, asking, "Are you still avoiding people?" Chise trembling while murmuring and making a series of awkward mouth-noises.

Yae let out a sigh and was about to say something else only for Chise to utter, "Well, two people said they wanted to show me around Tokyo after school."

Yae nodded and asked, "Why didn't you go with them? I would have been fine with it," Chise going silent for a few seconds before fibbing, "I didn't think you would approve of me being out so late."

Yae could tell this was just an excuse, but she did not wish to scold her daughter and as such, she simply gave the girl a sweet smile and said, "Well, all you would need to do is call me and I would be perfectly fine with that. You should maybe take them up on that offer the next time they ask."

"Okay," Chise uttered with a neutral look on her face, Yae nodding her head and replying, "That's good to hear."

Seeing her mother still smiling put Chise at ease as she slowly headed upstairs to her room so she could start on her homework. A part of her wanted to fulfil her mother's request but at the same time, she had so much trouble trusting anyone.

However, later that night before bed, Chise was on the Internet watching the news report of the mysterious dog girl and cat girl defeating the phoenix with their combined efforts. Alone, the dog girl did not stand a chance but with both working together, they managed to pull through.

"They work so well together," Chise uttered, "They have full trust in one-another. Maybe it is possible."

The following day, Cho and Akari took their seat next to Chise, Akari once again smiling at the new girl. Chise took a deep breath and bit her lower lip while thinking, 'Okay, next time they offer to show me around, I'll take it. They seem like good people. And if I see anything suspicious, I'll run before it's too late.'

Though for the first three classes, Chise knew the two girls would not have a good opportunity to ask. As such, she decided to sit with them during lunch. This would certainly be a big step, though, as it would involve her sitting in a room full of people by her own free will, not to mention just being a cafeteria would bring back bad memories of that fateful moment that ruined her chance at a social life in the first place.

However, if she was going to get over her fear of making friends, she would get over her fear of crowded rooms and the cafeteria. After all, she had more-or-less told her mother time and time again that she would do it and it was time for her to actually mean those words.

With that in mind, Chise waited for lunch to come. When it did, she quickly raced to her locker and pulled out her lunch, the girl taking a deep breath and putting on a look of confidence. Her lips started to quiver a bit, but she quickly stopped that by briefly holding her fingertip against them.

All the while, Akari and Cho had already gotten their lunches and were seated in the cafeteria, Akari asking in a soft tone, "Say, Cho, do you smell any Digimon?" the blue-haired girl shaking her head and replying, "Nope. So far, they haven't attacked during school hours. Isn't that convenient?"

All the while, Chise stood by the entrance, her knees shaking as she had a look of absolute terror in her eyes. Her lip was once again quivering as nervous sweat poured down her face. But deep down, she knew that she would have to do this.

Unfortunately, just as Chise took one step forward, she immediately lost all will to go further and bolted for the exit to eat outside in the empty field again. Once she got there, she breathed heavily and bit her lip, the girl on the verge of tears. She really could not do this.

And for the remaining classes, she kept thinking that way. She kept wanting to just turn to Akari and even utter the word 'yes', but she could not find the courage to do so. But she would not let this chance slide. Once the school day ended, she would take them up on their offer even if she had to seek them out herself.

And once the final class ended, Chise finished taking everything she needed out of her locker and looked around. After all, Cho and Akari had followed her to her locker yesterday. However, she noticed the two had not done so today.

With that, Chise bit her lip and started to tense up before walking forward, hoping to find them before they could leave. And as if by some act of fate, she managed to spot them just as she was turning the corner. With that, Chise put on a serious look and took a deep breath, thinking, 'Okay, I'll just walk over and tell them I'm free to look around Tokyo with them.'

With that, the girl took a step forward, trembling all over. Soon enough, she ended up getting close enough for Akari and Cho to hear her and said, "H-hello."

The other two girls turned to her as Akari gave Chise a warm smile and said, "Hi, Chise," Cho asking, "What's up?"

Chise was once again feeling nervous beyond compare, but she had gotten this far. There was no turning back. But just as she was about to say what she had been planning to all day, she instead let out a nervous squeak and covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. With that, the girl turned and bolted out of the area, Akari and Cho staring silently.

"I feel sorry for her," Cho uttered, Akari nodding and adding, "She must be so nervous."

However, before the two could think of ways to help her out, Cho's nose started to twitch as she stated, "We'll have to think about that later. I smell a Digimon really close by."

Close by was an understatement as the Digimon in question was right outside of the school and had appeared just as Chise had exited. The girl was stricken with terror, even more than usual, as she slowly backed away toward the doors.

The creature before her was a giant tarantula with a black abdomen and a skull painted on its back. It also wore a gold mask with two horns sticking out the sides of its head and nine green eyes on the front. To top it off, it also had messy red hair atop its head with the bangs held in place by a pair of hands and wore belts and bandages around its legs.

Chise wanted to scream right now in the hopes that someone would come to her rescue if she did. Unfortunately, she was even too scared to do that as the spider marched toward her, opening its mouth and launching a silk toward the girl. This ended up pinning her against the wall next to the left-most door, the tarantula giving her a hungry look.

However, at that exact moment, Cho and Akari came outside, their eyes wide with shock as the tarantula turned its gaze to them. Since Chise had been trapped right next to the door, the girls did not see her and as such felt it was safe for them to transform.

Chise, on the other hand, had no idea what they would do as she whimpered, thinking, 'I need to tell them to get out of here! They don't deserve to be eaten like me!' but just as she was about to muster up the strength to say something, she stopped when the girls pulled out their diamonds.

The diamonds released a brilliant glow as both transformed. Cho had sprouted a pair of dog ears and boxing gloves, her clothes vanishing only to be replaced by a pair of shorts, a tube top and a vest over top.

Akari underwent a different transformation as her hair changed colour entirely, changing from red to white. A pair of cat ears sprouted up from the sides while the girl's clothes vanished, tufts of fur growing and forming a tube top of her own, a speedo and a pair of shoes that resembled cat feet. A long stripes tail grew out of her rear end while a ring magically formed around the end. To top it off, a pair of yellow gloves with red streaks formed around her hands, razor sharp claws protruding from the fingers.

After seeing this, Chise's eyes widened as she chose to remain silent. Now that she knew the truth, she could tell that these two had things under control.

But rather than being intimidated, the tarantula felt that these new forms made the girls look even more appetizing as it launched more silk toward them. However, Akari would not allow this to happen as she threw her claws forward rapidly while shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!" thus cutting the silk to ribbons.

The tarantula was angry now as it let go of its bangs and marched toward the two. However, Cho simply smirked and said, "Thanks for giving me an opening, buddy," the girl then lunging toward the Digimon and barking, "GAO RUSH!"

With that, the blue-haired girl sent a barrage of punches into the tarantula's face, dealing incredible damage while its mask started to crack. However, because of the mask, the spider was able to ignore some of the pain Cho inflicted and thus took this opportunity to grab her with its large hands. After that, the Digimon lifted up its abdomen, preparing to spray silk at her.

Chise was about to panic now when Akari leapt toward the abdomen, once again scratching the silk that came out. Due to her new cat-like instincts, Akari was a lot quicker to respond to dangerous situations and thus was able to make due with what she had.

Seeing as she was safe, Cho smirked and said, "I guess I owe you big for this," before prying her arms out of the tarantula's grip and once again sending rapid punches into its face.

After delivering enough hits, the Digimon's mask cracked open to reveal its real face, the tarantula coughing up blood before spreading its legs out and collapsing. With all said and done, its body turned into data and floated away from the area.

Akari took a deep breath and asked, "Are you okay, Cho?" the blue-haired girl flexing her right muscles and remarking, "Who do you think you're talking to?"

But before Akari could even roll her eyes at this, both girls went wide-eyed when they heard a familiar voice utter, "You're the heroes from the news."

The other two girls stood there staring at Chise in silence for a few seconds before Cho uttered, "How long have you been there?"

Chise did not hear the question as a big smile slowly formed on her face, the girl exclaiming, "And to think you wanted to hang out with me! That's so cool!"

Akari used her claws to free Chise from the silk and soon cleared up everything with her, including the fact that their identities were to be kept a secret. But even before they told her that, Chise completely understood that. One would have never guessed from looking at her, but Chise had seen a few superhero shows and movies and knew all about the importance of secret identities.

Soon enough, after Akari and Cho returned to normal, they were walking home with Chise by their side as the blond girl was surprisingly talkative. It seemed just knowing that these two were her new heroes made her feel comfortable around them.

"But I don't get it," Chise said, "Why would you want to be friends with someone like me?" Akari replying, "Because I could tell from the moment I met you that you're a good person."

Cho nodded before adding, "Not to mention you seemed like you desperately needed a friend. No offence," Akari nudging her friend and uttering, "That's rude."

"Oh, that's okay," Chise replied, "You're right," the girl then letting out a sigh and adding, "I'm sorry for avoiding you. It's just, I had a really bad experience with someone who said she wanted to be my friend. And I feel even worse. The only reason I'm telling you all of this is because you're my heroes."

Cho simply laughed as Akari patted Chise on the shoulder and replied, "No, it's fine. You're opening up now. I'm sure it's only a matter of time until you can face the rest of the world," Chise nodding and sporting a big smile, one that had not been seen from her since she was four as she said, "Yeah, you might be right."

And with that, Chise was able to sleep soundly tonight now that she could honestly tell her mother that she had made friends. Of course, she fully intended to keep their secret safe, and she was actually rather excited about that. Not only had she made friends, but her first friends were real live superheroes.

But what Chise did not know was just how helpful she would be to them as while she slept, a bright yellow light shone in her room as a small diamond of the same colour appeared next to her bedside.


	6. Chapter 6

The following morning, Cho and Akari were headed to school as always. Things seemed pretty normal until the two were at the entrance, Chise arriving at that exact moment.

As soon as the two noticed her, Cho grinned and said, "Oh, hey Chise," Akari bowing her head and adding, "Good morning."

Chise's cheeks turned bright pink as she squealed, "Oh my god, my heroes just greeted me."

Cho stared awkwardly and sighed, "You know, you really don't have to treat us like royalty," as Akari simply giggled at Chise's behaviour.

With that, the trio headed off to class while Chise still seemed unwilling to speak to anyone except for Akari and Cho. Sure, her confidence had risen by a bit, but she was still taking mere baby steps toward a better social life.

As the group was close to the classroom, Chise asked, "Can you two meet me outside in the soccer field for lunch? I have something really important I need to tell you."

"So that's where you were the last couple of days?" Akari asked as Chise nodded and replied, "Again, sorry. It's been a bad habit of mine since, you know, the incident."

"Well, why not join us in the cafeteria for a change?" Cho asked as Akari nodded and added, "I have to admit, Cho's right. If you spend your whole life avoiding the cafeteria, you'll never get over your fear of it. After all, you do want to get over your fears, right?"

"Yes, and I promise I'll take that extra step someday," Chise replied, "But not today. Besides, this information is way too important for anyone else to hear."

Cho and Akari looked at one-another for a few seconds before shrugging and nodding their heads. Now they could not help but wonder if they had a reason to worry. After all, Chise had many things she had never told anyone before, so whether this was a major secret or something not worth worrying about was anyone's guess.

However, Chise was showing slight improvements during class. When the teacher asked the students if anyone could solve a big Math problem on the board, Chise happily volunteered and answered it without a second thought. She still looked rather nervous doing it, but she at least managed to do it even if it did mean drawing attention to herself.

In Science class, Akari and Cho were partnered up for experimenting and as such, Chise had no choice but to work with someone else. Sure, she still found herself having trouble talking to her partner, but she was able to handle the chemicals without trembling or hesitation, which was definitely a step in the right direction.

Chise still did not perform particularly well in physical education, but she was getting better at working on a team. Sure, she had only shown a little progress, but she was at least starting to improve now that she finally had friends, people she could trust secrets with.

During lunch, Akari and Cho decided to meet Chise outside as per her request. Sure, they would have much rather eaten in the cafeteria as usual, but they were not going to force Chise to do this if she was not comfortable with the idea yet.

"So," Cho asked with a smirk, "What's your big, important secret that no one else can know?"

Akari was also quite interested as Chise had a light smile, the blond saying, "Well, guys, we might be able to spend more time together outside of school."

Cho blinked and asked, "Why is that?" hers and Akari's eyes widening when Chise pulled out her diamond and squealed, "I have one of those glowing stones too!"

The other two stared in absolute bewilderment before a big smile formed on Akari's face, the girl giving Chise a big hug and squealing, "OH MY GOD, YOU CAN FIGHT WITH US TOO!"

However, Cho was not so sure about this. After all, Chise was still a nervous wreck when not with them, so she hardly seemed the hero type. Besides, Cho remembered just how difficult it was for her and Akari to activate their diamonds for the first time. What if Chise were to have similar problems?

With that in mind, Cho decided to let Chise know how the diamonds worked as soon as possible, the blue-haired girl saying, "May as well tell you this before your first battle. In order to get your power to work, all you have to do is think really hard about protecting those in need. In other words, it must be your top priority at that moment."

Akari nodded and said, "Oh yeah, that is important to know. Cho and I both had trouble getting that for a while."

Chise simply blinked and asked, "Well, why wouldn't I be able to do that? Of course if there's a monster nearby, all I'd think about is stopping it from hurting innocent lives."

Cho nodded her head and replied, "Well, okay, as long as we're clear on that."

The girl then got up and stretched before saying, "It's good to have another team mate. I look forward to seeing what you can do."

Chise nodded with a light smile and replied, "Yeah, I wonder what kind of power I'll have. Maybe I'll be my favourite animal."

"What kind of animal would that be?" Akari asked as Chise blushed, realizing she had set herself up for that.

"Well, my favourite animals are moles," Chise replied as Cho shrugged, asking, "What's wrong with that? I think moles are pretty cool."

Chise simply looked down and uttered, "W-well, the reason is because they have poor eyesight like me," the two staring at her as she added, "See, I can't see within a two-inch radius without my glasses."

"Who knows?" Cho replied with a shrug, "Maybe you'll combine with an animal that sees really well. After all, each one of us got an improved sense from our transformations. Since I'm a dog, my sense of smell is stronger than ever while Akari can now see really well in the dark due to her being part-cat."

"Well, I'll be happy either way," Chise replied with a look of content, "I've come to accept my poor eyesight over the years, but if I end up losing it, that won't be such a bad thing. As long as I can help."

Cho nodded, glad to see that Chise's heart was certainly in the right place. Perhaps the group would not have to worry about her struggling to activate her powers.

Once school was over, the trio was headed home while discussing plans to meet up once their homework was done. However, if Cho detected a Digimon beforehand, she would immediately give the two a call so they could take care of the threat as soon as possible. Sure, there still had not been one Digimon attack during school hours, but at the same time, they were no longer showing up specifically during the evening.

Luckily, things were peaceful enough for the girls to finish their homework. Once that was taken care of, the three were out patrolling after telling their parents they were off studying together. Needless to say, Yae was very happy to hear her daughter tell her she was 'going out to spend time with her friends'. The woman had spent so long wondering if she would ever hear those words.

Once the trio was out patrolling, though, Chise had to admit she was feeling a little nervous. She was actually hanging out with her heroes and might very well fight alongside them this evening. Needless to say, the blond was shaking all over.

"Are you okay?" Cho asked as Chise nodded, not wanting to let them know just how nervous she was right now. After all, the last thing she wanted was to have her own heroes worry about her.

After a few minutes of walking, Cho's nose started to twitch as she sniffed the air, her eyes going wide as she uttered, "There's trouble."

Akari nodded and said, "Come on, Chise," the blond rather surprised by how sudden this was as the other two bolted from the area. Of course, since Chise had a lot of experience running, she was able to keep up rather easily despite being a bit late with her reaction.

However, Cho suddenly came to a halt after a few seconds as Akari asked, "What's wrong?" the blue-haired girl holding up her finger and asking, "Do you hear something?"

Akari's nodded and replied, "Yes, I think I do," Chise squeaking in terror when the ground started to shake. Whatever was causing this was headed for the local park thus the girls wasted no time pursuing it.

Soon enough, the trio came to an area where many people were enjoying themselves. Some were flying kites while others were just playing. Some of them were also resting on the benches. However, that peace ended when the ground suddenly opened up, a big drill pointing up from beneath the surface and spinning rapidly.

Chise's eyes widened when the owner of the drill revealed itself. As it just so happened, this tool was really the nose of a giant mole with white fur covering all but its back, which was covered in purple fur. Its claws were also drills as it looked rather menacing, the civilians all fleeing for their lives.

"Oh no," Chise uttered, Cho taking a deep breath and saying, "Look, Chise, I know moles are your favourite animals, but this one's attacking people," Akari nodding and adding, "Don't forget, Digimon don't die forever."

Chise nodded and remembered that they had explained this to her after she discovered their secret. With that in mind, the girl noticed both Akari and Cho change into their hero forms and held out her own diamond to follow suit. She also remembered that she needed to think about nothing more than protecting people and thus she closed her eyes, thinking hard about it.

However, despite all of this, her diamond did not glow and as such, Chise did not transform. But why not?

Cho looked with concern but knew now was not the time to think about this as the mole started spinning all of its drills, sending its claws toward the two transformed girls. Akari simply dodged while looking for an opening, the mole growling and attempting to strike her.

Cho took full advantage of this as she rolled under the other set of claws, ramming herself hard into the mole's gut and exclaiming, "ROLLING UPPER!"

With that, the mole's eyes widened as Akari proceeded to shout, "LIGHTNING PAW!" scratching the Digimon's forehead and drawing blood.

Chise took a deep breath at the sight of this while thinking, 'I guess they don't really need me,' and this seemed even more true as Cho distanced herself from the mole, turning and giving Chise thumbs up while stating, "Don't worry. We got this."

However, rather than feeling relieved, Chise felt helpless. She wished she could figure out why she had trouble transforming so she could at least provide backup. But even if she could figure it out, would someone like her really be of any help?

But just as soon as Akari and Cho had gotten the upper hand, things took a different turn when the mole proceeded to dive underground with the help of its drills. Chise's eyes were now wide open as she started to tremble.

Cho's nose twitched while she sniffed, Akari asking, "Do you know where it went?" the blue-haired girls eyes going wide as she exclaimed, "CHISE! MOVE!"

Unfortunately, Chise was absolutely spellbound right now while the ground started to shake underneath her. With that, Cho immediately sprinted toward the blond and shoved her out of the way just the mole rose up. As a result, the blue-haired girl took in a fierce blow as the side of the mole's drill nose hit her hard, blood flying from her torso while she flew into a tree.

"CHO!" Akari squeaked, Chise's eyes widening as the mole proceeded to charge at Cho with the intent of finishing what it had started.

But just as if got close, Akari instinctively jumped in the way with her claws crossed in front of her face like a shield. Unfortunately, this proved ineffective against the massive drill nose as soon enough, her claws had been split in two while Akari was sent careening into her friend just as she had started to recover.

Chise's heart started to race as she breathed heavily, thinking, 'Oh no! They're going to die and it's all my fault!'

However, Chise's look of terror was replaced by one of anger as she thought, 'No, I won't let them die because of me!'

With that, her yellow diamond started to glow as an orange helmet with a red diamond on the middle formed on her head. Two yellow leaf-like ears also sprouted out from the sides as her clothes vanished and were soon replaced by a dark-blue jumpsuit. An orange shell like that of an armadillo appeared on her back as she also sprouted a pair of wrist guards and knee pads with a similar design. To top it off, a yellow tail with three spikes formed on her rear end while she also sported yellow shoes and gloves, the shoes sporting three claws each.

Chise's eyes went wide as she looked all over herself, but she quickly remembered that her new friends needed help. With that, she wasted no more time as she instinctively rolled herself up like a ball thus tucking herself into the shell that had formed on her back.

With that, she rolled hard into the mole's back and exclaimed, "DIAMOND SHELL!" bouncing off like a basketball while the Digimon halted its attack.

Akari and Cho stared in shock before breathing simultaneous sighs of relief. Sure, it had taken a while, but at least Chise had figured out how to use her diamond much faster than they had. Not only that, but this form of hers was tough, something Chise would have never seen herself as.

However, just as quickly as the blond had gained her confidence, it soon left her when the mole directed its attention towards her. With that, the girl's eyes went wide with fear as she pursed her lips, uttering, "I'm sorry, Mister Mole!"

"Don't apologize!" Cho remarked, "You've got the upper hand now!" Akari nodding with a sweet smile and adding, "Yeah, now we can work together."

With that in mind, Chise took a deep breath and figured they were right, but just as she was about to join back into the fight, she noticed the mole activating its drill fingers and bringing them close to her. With that in mind, Chise instinctively curled up into her shell as the drills pressed up against it. Luckily, the shell was just as hard as she had hoped it would be as the mole was having a difficult time penetrating the material.

Seeing this, Akari and Cho wasted no time charging toward the mole. Just as they got close enough, the two leapt into the air and aimed for the Digimon's back while Akari exclaimed, "LIGHTNING PAW!" and Cho shouted, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!" while spinning like a top.

With that, Akari struck the mole's back hard with her claws while Cho rammed her fists repeatedly into the same spot, the mole taking in extreme pain while it stopped its attack. But just as it was about to turn and retaliate, Chise retracted from her shell and performed a handstand. With that, the girl boosted herself toward the mole's chin and exclaimed, "DIAMOND SLAMMING!" and rammed the claws on her shoes hard into the mole's chin.

Chise winced after doing so while the mole's eyes rolled to the back of its head. The Digimon then fell hard on its back while its body turned into data and flew into the air and away from the area.

It was around this time the news crew had been standing by, Chise noticing this with panic in her eyes, hoping to God they had arrived after she had transformed. And thankfully, it seemed like they had as the reporter stated, "And in another shocking turn of events, it would seem we have a third hero protecting Tokyo, a young armadillo girl with glasses, very fitting considering armadillos are known for their poor eyesight."

"Oh yeah, they do have eyesight like mine," Chise uttered, a light smile forming on her face, "I guess this form was made for me."

With that, Akari and Cho ran over to Chise and gave her a hug, Cho exclaiming, "That was so cool!" Chise blushing and uttering, "I did something cool?"

Akari nodded and replied, "Yeah, you really pulled through," as Cho nodded and added, "I wouldn't have hidden in my shell, personally, but it seemed to work well."

With all said and done, the girls headed back to their respective homes. They had of course changed back to their regular forms once no one was around to see them and of course, Akari and Cho could not help but congratulate Chise on her progress.

"So, any idea how you finally got it to work?" Cho asked as Chise sighed, "I realized when I saw you two in danger that I have something worth protecting, and that's my new friends. You guys gave me more than enough of a reason."

"And you didn't think of us as worth protecting before?" Cho remarked, Akari nudging her and shaking her head.

"Well, you guys didn't seem to need my help," Chise uttered, "Also, I was afraid of hurting a mole. I've always liked moles."

"Yeah, we know," Cho replied with a smirk before giving her new friend a noogie, "Well, it's good to officially have you on the team."

Chise blushed bright and chuckled nervously before uttering, "Yeah. That actually felt pretty good saving the day like that."

And with that, things continued to look up. Maybe someday, they would be able to take care of all the Digimon attacking Tokyo just like Fukuko had taken care of the Digimon attacking her hometown. Or perhaps they would face more difficult challenges in the future. Only time would tell.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a nice, simple day in Tokyo save for one big problem. A giant cactus with boxing gloves was currently attacking an elementary school just as the day had ended and the people were about to head home. But the children and staff members felt safe as the city's local heroes, Akari, Cho and their most recent addition, Chise, were currently in the midst of battle with the plant.

All the while, a certain woman stood before a camera and said, "We are live at Takanawadai Elementary school where a humanoid cactus is threatening the children of all people. But luckily for us, our young and able heroes are here to stop this threat that the police cannot."

The cactus spun around and unleashed a barrage of needles toward the three as Akari simply leapt high enough to avoid them and Chise tucked herself into her shell and block the incoming projectiles.

However, the only one who did not seem to have a completely effective way of going about this was Cho who simply ducked down in the hopes that they would miss. This did prove effective to a certain degree until one needle ended up flying just low enough to grab her by the collar of her vest. This ended up launching her back thus forcing her up against the wall of a house located across the street.

"CHO!" Chise and Akari exclaimed in panic only for the blue-haired girl to retort, "Don't worry! I'm fine!"

To prove this, Cho simply removed her arms from under the vest and decided to leave it behind. After all, just like her boxing gloves, she knew it would come back the next time she transformed.

Seeing that its needles had failed, the cactus simply held up its arms defensively and waited for a good time to strike. Akari and Chise, not really knowing much about boxing, did not know what this meant and as such, the two were trying to find an opening to exploit.

However, before they could do so, Cho ran over to the two and patted them both on the shoulders, saying, "Guys, let me handle this. I may be more of a wrestling fan, but I know a thing or two about boxing. After all, thanks to my super form, I'm now a professional."

Akari nodded with a warm smile and replied, "Okay, take it away. You're the expert," as Chise nodded and gave her friend thumbs up.

With that, Cho smirked and rushed toward the cactus, rolling up into a ball. But rather than using her Rolling Upper, it seemed this was a trick to fake out the cactus as when it moved its gloves in front of its chest to defend itself, Cho instead sent a hard punch into the Digimon's face.

Akari and Chise along with all of the students cheered wildly. However, it seemed this cactus had better reflexes than Cho had expected as it immediately retaliated by sending a hard uppercut into Cho's gut while she was still airborne.

With the girl now distracted, the cactus proceeded to send a barrage of rapid-paced punched into her thus sending her careening into a lamp post. The people stared in horror as Cho coughed up blood, a look of shock on her face while she breathed heavily.

Seeing their friend in need of help, Chise and Akari nodded at one-another before rushing toward the cactus. And once again, the Digimon sported a defensive stance, ready to counter at any time.

With that, Chise proceeded to tuck into her shell and roll toward the cactus only for the plant to retaliate with a hard punch, sending her flying. Luckily, thanks to her shell, this ended up dealing minimal damage while the cactus was distracted long enough to Akari to deliver a hard strike, shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

The cactus' eyes and mouth widened as it fell hard on its back, its eyes forming into X's while its body turned into data and vanished from the area. The people all cheered while the reporter said, "It looked like a close one, but as always, our heroes have saved us."

Akari took a deep breath and smiled happily at all the cheering elementary students. The smiling faces of children always filled her with glee no matter what the reason for it was. However, Chise was simply trying her hardest to hide how much she was blushing right now. Needless to say, this was the first time anyone had applauded her for anything so naturally, the girl was feeling rather embarrassed right now.

However, Cho did not feel she deserved any credit right now as she had a look of disappointment on her face. Chise noticed this and was about to say something when suddenly, the reporter came up to her with her microphone at the ready.

"So, you're the newest addition to the team," the woman said, "Could you tell me where you came from? You heroes always seem to appear out of the blue."

Chise's blush brightened as she murmured, "Um..." only for Akari to step in front of the camera and say, "I'm terribly sorry, but that's a secret we can't just share with anyone. I hope you understand."

The reporter nodded and replied, "Well, superheroes do operate in mysterious ways, so I will not press for more information. I am Juri and you are watching the Tokyo News."

"You're supposed to say that at the start of the announcement," the cameraman remarked as the woman rolled her eyes, leaving the area now that there was nothing else to report.

Soon enough, the trio was headed home as Chise called up Yae and assured her she was okay. As it just so happened, the woman had recently seen the news report and was worried that Chise might have been in that general area.

"It's fine, I've just been doing some extra schoolwork with my friend," Chise stated as Yae replied, "That's wonderful, honey. Maybe you should bring them over sometime so I can meet them."

Chise immediately turned to the two as Akari nodded her head, saying, "I'd like that," Cho simply giving a light nod as she was still feeling rather down after what had happened.

Once the call was over, Chise looked at the blue-haired girl with concern and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Akari blinked and looked at Cho as well before giving her friend a warm smile and saying, "Don't feel too bad. You did a great job."

"No I didn't," Cho remarked as the two stared at her with concern, the blue-haired girl adding, "You two did all the hard work. I didn't do anything."

"You did plenty," Akari remarked, "I probably wouldn't have won if you hadn't softened it up."

Cho simply rolled her eyes and retorted, "I know you're trying to cheer me up, but that won't make up for the fact that I barely did a thing. I was so sure I could win that fight on my own but I couldn't."

"Well, none of us can truly win by ourselves," Akari replied, "That's why we fight as a team."

"Yeah, but is that really something to be proud of?" Cho asked, Chise and Akari both staring in confusion as the blue-haired girl added, "Akari, you remember when we saw Fukuko fight, right? Before she came face-to-face with that snake, she was able to defeat Digimon by herself. Hell, if what she told us is true, she always fought on her own back in her hometown and she fought many Digimon there! She was able to win fights by herself and yet not even I, someone who's been fighting her own battles since she was six can stand up to a single Digimon by herself, not even in my super form when fighting another martial artist!"

"But you did beat that snake by yourself," Akari stated with a smile only for Cho to roll her eyes and sigh, "Yeah, but only after Fukuko softened it up for me."

Akari tried to respond but had to admit that Cho had a point. They had only seen Fukuko fight and win two battles while Akari had heard of another win when her father was attacked, yet for all three of those fights, Fukuko had fought by herself with no one to help her.

"Oh yeah, she's the rabbit girl from the news, right?" Chise asked as Akari nodded and smiled warmly, saying, "Don't forget, though, she had a lot of experience."

"That wasn't the only reason," Cho remarked, "She was fine when fighting that weak bat thing, but when she fought that dinosaur, remember, she couldn't even hurt it at first. Now, with that in mind, she couldn't have possibly won and yet she did, and do you remember how she did it?"

Akari stared silently, clearly not seeing where Cho was going as the blue-haired girl barked, "It was because of that other transformation!"

Chise and Akari both stared before Akari nodded and uttered, "Oh yeah, she had another form."

"Exactly," Cho replied, "And that form made her stronger. Even against that snake, she didn't stand even the smallest of chances before taking on that form. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Akari said nothing and bit her lower lip while Cho grunted, "If I could figure out how to change into a stronger form myself, I'd be able to hold my own in battle, but Fukuko never told us how it worked!"

With that, the girl took a deep breath and said, "I'm going for a walk, alright? You two can head home yourselves," Akari and Chise watching in silence as Cho headed away from them with her hands in her pockets.

Akari and Chise looked at one-another with concern in their eyes, but just as Chise was about to go after her friend, Akari rested a hand on her shoulder. Akari had already pointed out every bright side she could. Now it was up to Cho to figure out her next course of action.

When the blue-haired girl returned home, her parents happily greeted her as her mother asked, "So, you stay a little longer for studying?" Cho nodding and replying, "Yeah."

"That's my girl," her father replied with a grin, "I tell you, Sakura, our daughter is going places."

However, both parents looked concerned when they saw Cho's face. It seemed like their daughter was struggling to look happy, as if something was wrong.

"Cho, honey, is there something troubling you?" the girl's mother, Sakura, asked, Cho laughing nervously and replying, "Oh, it's just a big test we have to take soon. I'm gonna need some extra cramming to get ready for it."

Both parents smiled in response to this as her father said, "I tell you, I get more and more proud of her everyday," his wife nodding and replying, "Still, I do feel a little guilty, Kenichi."

"What do you mean?" the man, Kenichi, asked, his eyes widening as he nodded and said, "Oh yeah, you mean how it wasn't us who helped her realize how smart she could be."

"I'm so happy that Akari came into Cho's life," Sakura said with a bright smile, "She's made our little girl so much happier and helped her so much. But at the same time, I feel like she knows our daughter better than we do."

Kenichi nodded and sighed, "I've noticed lately, Cho has not been spending much time with us."

"Well, don't forget, she has formed a study group with her friends," Sakura replied, Kenichi chuckling and replying, "Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that."

Both parents went silent and stared at each-other for a few seconds before sporting big smiles and exclaiming, "Let's help her study!"

However, Cho was not really studying. Right now, she was lying on her bed and looking at posters of all of her favourite wrestlers. Looking at each one reminded her of a different match that each fighter was in.

She remembered how one of them pulled out an intense submission hold and earned himself a come-from-behind victory. She also remembered how one of her favourite female wrestlers defeated a very tough opponent without taking in so much as a single hit. So many other memories flooded back to her mind as she took a deep breath, thinking about how much better they seemed than her.

All of them had won by themselves. They did not have help during their fights. It was strictly one-on-one, and even against some of the toughest opponents, they mostly came out on top. How we they so good at this when Cho could not handle such a thing even with super powers?

Her train of thought was soon cut off when suddenly, the door opened up and her parents entered with smiles on their faces. However, their smiles faded when they noticed their daughter lying on her bed looking depressed.

"Hey, Cho," Sakura uttered, "We came to help you study, but it seems you're done already," Cho taking a deep breath and asking, "Mom, Dad, be honest. Am I strong?"

The adults stared at her for a while until Kenichi replied, "What are you talking about? Of course you're strong. Seriously, you can beat me at arm wrestling. How many others have managed to pull that off?"

"I think better proof is the fact that you can beat me at arm wrestling," Sakura stated with a smirk as Kenichi sighed, "Oh, right, you have."

"Well, I just don't know," Cho uttered as Kenichi's eyes widened, the man retorting, "Oh, I know what this is! Look, honey, just because you're smarter doesn't mean you're weaker! I'm impressed you went this long without needing to hear that."

Sakura rolled her eyes and asked, "Why do you really think you're weak?"

Cho looked into her mother's eyes and asked, "Remember the day Akari and I met, how I saved her from a group of bullies?"

Cho remembered the day as if it had happened yesterday. Akari was eight and drawing pictures in the sandbox with a stick during recess. However, just as she had finished a rather beautiful picture of an angel, a pair of tough boys walked over to the area and stomped on it just to make her upset.

However, they were surprised that it did not work, Akari smiling bright and saying, "That looks like fun. I'll just go somewhere else to draw."

Even at the age of eight, Akari always tried her best to be friendly, even to those who did not deserve it. Unfortunately, the boys were disappointed by this reaction as one of them grabbed her by the arm, holding on rather tight.

"Um, you're hurting me," Akari uttered as the boy gritted his teeth, barking, "What's wrong with you, you stupid girl!? We just killed your picture! Why aren't you crying!?"

"Why would I cry about something like that?" Akari asked as the boy lifted his hand and retorted, "If that won't make you cry, then I'll give you something to really cry about!"

But just as the boy was about to poke Akari in the eye, Cho rushed into the scene and tackled him to the ground. After that, she proceeded to grab hold of his arms and pull them behind his neck for a full nelson.

The boy's friend fled from the area while the victim cried 'Uncle'. Cho smirked and released her hold on him as he fled for his life, letting down tears. Akari stared in silence, a big smile forming on her face.

But just as she was about to say something, Cho felt a hand on her shoulder as she turned and noticed a teacher standing there with a serious look in her eyes. The girl gulped as she knew what had happened, Akari watching with her eyes wide open as the blue-haired girl was led inside the school, soon to be sent to the office.

Needless to say her parents were called in to have a word with the principal. They promised to punish Cho for her actions, but ultimately, they had no intention of doing so. After all, Cho had only acted out to protect someone and that was the only time her parents would be okay with her using violence in school.

While the family left the office, Akari stood there with the same bright smile from before and said, "Thank you so much. You were really cool back there."

Cho smiled and replied, "Don't mention it," and thus the friendship between Cho and Akari was born. And the two had remained best friends since then.

A week later after the two had been spending recess together, Akari invited Cho over to her house so her parents could meet her. Needless to say, it was a pleasant experience with Kenta and Yumi giving their guest the best treatment any parent could give a visiting child.

It was during this time that Cho noticed a ton of assignments with one-hundred percent scores posted on the fridge. Seeing as Akari had no siblings, she very quickly realized whose assignments those were.

"Wow, you're really smart, aren't you?" Cho asked as Akari blushed and replied, "Well, my mommy's been helping me out a lot. During the Summer, she home-schools me."

Cho's eyes widened as she asked, "I have a Math test coming up soon... and a writing test and a Science test and-"

"Okay, I'll help you study," Akari replied with a big smile, Cho's eyes sparkling in response to this.

"And from that moment on, she helped shape me into the student I never thought I could be," Cho said with a smirk, "I was okay getting nothing but C's, but she brought me up to an A student in no time and in return, I would always protect her from harm."

"Yes, you've both helped each-other out in many ways," Sakura replied, "I see that as a very good friendship."

"Yeah, but I'm starting to think maybe she doesn't need me anymore," Cho replied with a sigh, Kenichi remarking, "Now, why would you think that?"

Cho realized she could not tell the full truth, so she thought up a good cover story and said, "Well, earlier this week, Akari was being picked on by a couple of bullies who tried to steal her textbook. They were very strong, so when I came in to help, they overpowered me."

"They did what!?" Kenichi asked as his wife gave him a cold look, the man clearing his throat and sighing, "Honey, it might be hard to believe, but there are times when even the strongest of people can't always win."

"Well, that's not the only thing that happened," Cho uttered, the parents giving their full attention as she added, "See, after I had been beaten, Akari proceeded to take both of them by herself and get her textbook back. She managed to beat them in a fight when I didn't even stand a chance."

"Wait, little, pacifistic Akari did that with her own strength?" Kenichi asked as Cho blinked and replied, "Actually, she used her wits to come up with a way to catch them off-guard."

"So she combined brains with brawn," Sakura replied, "It sounds to me like you've inspired her a little bit. She must have learned some fighting techniques from watching you."

Cho's eyes went wide as while this was not exactly true, she was the one who ultimately motivated Akari to activate her diamond for the first time. In a sense, she had helped greatly with that.

"Is there more to the story?" Sakura asked as Cho explained, "Well, I did manage to land one hit."

"Well, sounds more to me like a team effort," Kenichi replied before pointing to a wall poster of a wrestling tag team asking, "You see those two over there?"

Cho turned and said, "Yeah, Tsuruta and Yatsu. What about them?"

"Well, do you remember when they fought the Road Warriors?" Kenichi asked, Cho nodding and replying, "That's right. It was a tough match but they ended up winning the title."

"That's right," Kenichi replied, "And they did it with perfect teamwork. See, not every fight can be one by a single person. Sometimes it takes another to get good results."

"Well put," Sakura said with a grin as Cho's eyes widened.

However, at that very moment, her nose started to twitch as she thought, 'Another Digimon attack in one day?' before saying, "Mom, Dad, I need to take care of something right now."

Her parents nodded as Sakura replied, "I understand, honey."

But just as Cho was about to take off, she quickly gave her parents a hug and took off, quickly pulling out her cellphone. However, after doing so, she stopped in her tracks and stared at it briefly before shaking her head and sighing, "Right, we're a team. That means we all need to act as a team, including me."

With that, Cho immediately called up Chise and Akari. Needless to say, both were just as surprised as she was by the fact that there had been two Digimon attacks in one day.

In the downtown area, a big dinosaur was attacking, though unlike the first one to attack Tokyo, this one did not have a skull helmet. It was also grey and covered in red and black scars. Civilians were fleeing in panic as the Digimon unleashed flames from its mouth while a red aura surrounded its body.

But just as all seemed lost, Cho, Akari and Chise arrived, all three having transformed. However, upon seeing the creature, Chise started to whimper only for Cho to pat her on the shoulder and give her a friendly smile.

"You seem to be in better spirits," Akari stated with a big smile as Cho smirked and replied, "Yeah, I just needed some time to think," before turning to the dinosaur and holding up her fists.

"Think you can handle this one by yourself?" Chise asked as Cho shrugged and replied, "Maybe, but it might be best not to take any chances."

Akari had a warm smile before turning toward the dinosaur, which had directed its gaze toward the trio. With that, the Digimon let out a loud roar as its body glowed once more and it opened up its mouth, a flame forming within.

"I got an idea," Cho said before turning to Chise and adding, "Roll up into a ball."

Chise nodded and did so, figuring an experienced fighter would know more about this sort of thing than she did. With that, Cho proceeded to lift up Chise before reeling her leg back and shouting, "DIAMOND SOCCER SHELL!"

With that, she sent her foot forward and kicked Chise hard toward the dinosaur just as it released a torrent of flames toward her. It seemed the girl's shell was able to block the flames for a while until the material started to turn red, Chise crying out in pain as she opened up her shell.

"That didn't work," Cho uttered as Akari wasted no time sprinting toward the dinosaur with her claws at the ready, Cho following suit.

The dinosaur marched over to Chise, the girl trembling all the while as she was too frightened to get up. However, just as the dinosaur was about to close its jaws down on her, Akari sent a hard slash to the dinosaur's face while Cho delivered a barrage of punches.

However, despite their combined efforts, this seemed to do next to nothing as the dinosaur flinched but did do much else. It had changed its target, but this hardly seemed like a good thing as it swung its claws in front of its face, striking Cho and Akari hard while sending them back a ways.

Chise simply squeaked in fright before curling up into a ball again and rolling away from the dinosaur. She retracted from her shell once she was close enough to the others, the girl now trembling as she whimpered, "What are we going to do?"

Cho took a deep breath and smirked before saying, "Don't worry. We can do this. We'll just need to hit it all at once."

Akari nodded and said, "That's a good idea. If we all hit it at the same time, it might do enough damage."

With that, all three girls nodded as Chise took a deep breath. With the other two helping her out, she would be able to find the strength to do this.

With that, the trio rushed toward the dinosaur as it once again glowed red, unleashing another flame. Just as it was about to hit them, Cho smirked and exclaimed, "Now!" as all three spread out, avoiding the flame in unison.

With that, Cho and Chise both curled up into balls and rolled toward the dinosaur, Akari leaping forward just above them with her claws out. The dinosaur's eyes went wide as all three struck him in the chest at once, Chise shouting, "DIAMOND SHELL!" while Cho spat, "ROLLING UPPER!" and Akari exclaimed, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

It seemed Chise's added strength made quite a bit of difference as the dinosaur let out a roar of pain. However, while it had taken in damage, this still did not seem like nearly enough as the trio distanced themselves from it, the dinosaur acting as if it had taken in no pain just now.

'No,' Cho thought, her eyes wide open as Akari patted her on the shoulder, smiling and saying, "We did something. Now we just gotta keep it up."

However, at that moment, a light-blue dog with boxing gloves appeared before Cho in her mind as she stared and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am the spirit of your diamond," the dog replied, "My name is Gaomon."

Cho said nothing more as the dog continued, "You have made good use of my power and have even learned to accept help from others. Thus I feel you have earned the right to advance to the next level."

"Next level?" Cho asked as Gaomon nodded and replied, "From now on, if you wish for me to grant you this power, I will give it to you, but only ask when the situation calls for it as you can only keep this form for a limited time each day."

Cho nodded in understanding and sported a serious look as her body started to glow, Chise and Akari staring. With that, Cho's form stared to change. Bandages formed around her feet as her tube top and vest switched colours. Her headband relocated itself to her neck, now becoming a scarf with three claw-like formations appearing on the end of each side. Her running shoes were now blue and her boxing gloves had spikes coming out of them, her ears also becoming pointier.

Once the change was complete, Chise and Akari stared in shock as Akari uttered, "Cho, you got another form like Fukuko."

Cho's eyes widened as she looked down at the spikes on her boxing gloves. She tilted her head downward and noticed the small change in clothing and also noticed the scarf around her neck.

With that, she smirked and said, "Alright, I got this," before turning to the others and adding, "Though I might need a distraction before hitting him."

Akari and Chise nodded before heading toward the dinosaur. The Digimon unleashed flames toward them as they simply dodged, Cho taking full advantage of this while rushing toward it from the right with her arms crossed. She then proceeded to spread them out, shouting, "DASH DOUBLE CLAW!"

This formed an X in the air that headed straight for the dinosaur, covering its body in cuts as it roared in agony. With that out of the way, the dinosaur was done for it as it fell forward on its chin, its body turning into data and flying away from the area.

Cho took a deep breath as Chise and Akari ran over to her, giving the girl a big hug as Chise exclaimed, "You are so cool, Cho!" the blue-haired girl smirking and replying, "Yeah, but I don't think I could have done that without you guys."

And with that, the trio headed home, Cho feeling on top of the world. But would this new transformation truly make things easier or would the battles only get harder from here on out?


	8. Chapter 8

It was Thursday night and as luck would have it, there had not been a single Digimon attack today. After having dealt with two the previous day, Akari, Cho and Chise were rather relieved to have a bit of a break. Even so, they knew this did not mean they were in the clear seeing as they had gone whole days without Digimon appearing before.

And yet despite this, there was still something strange going on that night. Once the girls were in bed and midnight came around, a group of teens were headed home as one boy gulped down a can of beer, exclaiming, "Oh man, that was a sick party!"

"I admit it, Neku, this was a good idea," a young girl replied as a slightly taller boy uttered, "I still think we shouldn't have gone. We have school in the morning."

"So?" the other boy remarked, the tall boy sighing, "You can't tell me I'm the only one who's feeling tired right now."

"I hate to admit it, but he has a point," the girl stated, the other boy remarking, "You guys worry too much!"

But while they were talking, they failed to notice that they were being followed. But it could not have possibly been a Digimon. If it had been, Cho would have picked on it immediately. Perhaps it was a robber.

As it just so happened, the one following them was a seventeen-year-old girl with pale skin and ears pointed like those of an elf. She wore a red mask over her eyes and a fancy blue suit with red bats sewn on the shoulders. She sported a pair of big black boots with skulls on them and a black belt around her waist. She also sported a cape and a wore a gold bat emblem below her neck. She had long blond hair flowing behind her, purple lipstick but the strange feature of all was a pair of fangs hanging out the sides of her mouth.

"Your friend does indeed make a good point," the girl said with a wicked grin, "Not only do you lose sleep this way, but bad things can happen at this time of night."

The group turned as the boy said, "Hey, you know Halloween's a long way from now, right?" the taller boy trembling and uttering, "Wait, what do you mean bad things can happen?"

"Good lord, grow up," the girl remarked, "She's trying to freak us out."

"Only because you have a good reason to be freaked out," the girl replied before holding out her arms and shouting, "GRISLY WING!"

Suddenly, an army of bats shot out of her hands and flew toward the teens, the girl opening her mouth wide and lashing out her fangs. It was not long until the screams of the humans filled the night.

When morning came, the bodies of the victims had been discovered as Juri arrived at the scene to give a report. Needless to say, the parents of these teens would not be happy when they turned on the news.

During this time, Akari had gotten up and headed downstairs for breakfast as Yumi said, "Good morning, sweetie."

Kenta, on the other hand, had a small TV on and said, "Hey, look at this."

Akari and Yumi both looked and gasped at the sight of the dead bodies on screen, Juri saying, "We are not sure when this happened, but these poor kids have been murdered. But it doesn't look any regular murder as the only indicator we have is two small holes on the side of each one's neck. We could very well be dealing with a being of legends here, the walking dead, Nosferatu!"

"Nose for what?" the cameraman asked as Juri slapped her forehead, sighing, "I'm talking about a vampire."

"Oh dear," Yumi said, "I wonder what kind of sick person really did that," Kenta sighing, "You know, with all those monsters showing up lately, I wouldn't be surprised if it really was a werewolf."

With that, the man gave Akari a serious look and exclaimed, "Honey, you must promise me you'll never stay out past ten!" Akari too shocked by the report to respond as Yumi sighed, "Kenta, you know our little Akari would never stay out that late."

Akari simply nodded her head, unable to say anything. She simply could not believe it. That did not look like the work of any human, but could it possibly be? Was there a Digimon that Cho could not detect?

Whatever the case, Akari currently needed to focus on school as she headed off there, soon joined by Cho and Chise. Needless to say, both of them had also seen the report and neither knew what to think of this.

"I will admit, that did not look like the handiwork of a human," Cho stated as Akari nodded and replied, "True, but if it was a Digimon, you would have smelled it no matter where you were."

Cho nodded as Chise suggested, "Maybe it had a different scent," Cho shrugging and replying, "That's a possibility, but considering every other Digimon had a similar smell regardless of what species it was, I doubt it."

Cho then shrugged and stated, "It's not a human and it's not a Digimon. What if it really was a vampire? I mean, of all the creatures of the night I've heard about, vampires do seem to be the most plausible."

Chise pursed her lips and squeaked in terror, her eyes wide with terror at the very thought of it as she whimpered, "Oh god, I hope not! I've always been able to sleep at night under the notion that such beings don't exist, but if vampires of all creatures do exist, I'm not safe anymore!"

"Hold on," Cho remarked with a look of confusion, "You've gone up against a giant mole with a drill nose and a fire-breathing dinosaur and yet vampires scare you?"

Chise nodded and replied, "Well, every creature of the night scares me, but vampires are the worst. By day they take the form of a bat but by night they look just like humans. If you were to go out shopping after dark, you could end up asking a blood-thirsty vampire to help you find the cabbages!"

A chill went down Chise's spine as she toppled over onto her side, trembling uncontrollably. Akari laughed nervously and patted her on the shoulder while saying, "Look on the bright side. At least they don't go into people's rooms."

Chise blinked and uttered, "That's true," as Cho helped her back up and sighed, "Look, there's no guarantees that what we're dealing with is a vampire, but even if it was, at least if we manage to discover it we'll have the power to defeat it. Humans may need stakes and garlic, but we have super powers."

Chise was still trembling as Cho looked into her eyes and said, "Chise, you're a hero now. Start thinking like one."

It was at that moment the trio arrived at school as Akari said, "We should probably talk about this later."

With that, the group entered the school when Cho noticed a young Goth girl just a year older than them in front of her locker. She had long black hair and lipstick and eyeliner to match. At that moment, a few students walked by her as one accidentally bumped his elbow into her back, the girl gritting her teeth and giving him a death glare.

"Who's that?" Chise asked as Cho replied, "That's Hazuki, a twelfth-grader. They say she has a really short temper and has no friends."

"Is it because of how she looks?" Chise asked as Akari shook her head and replied, "Oh no, I heard she used to have lots of friends until she became bitter and cold toward everyone. No one knows why, but it's considered best to avoid her now."

"Still, I'm surprised she's actually here," Cho stated, "I heard she quit school over a month ago."

"Maybe she's finally decided to start being nice again," Akari suggested with a warm smile as Cho sighed, "Judging that how she responded to a light nudge, I doubt it."

Chise, all the while, trembled with fear as she murmured, "Yeah, I'm getting really bad vibes from her."

All the while, Hazuki simply walked off to her class with a cold look in her eyes, thinking, 'Alright, Mom, I decided to come back to school and it's just as bad as I remember it being.'

However, while walking along, she noticed a group of popular students picking on the members of the computer club. She stared briefly while her expression went from peeved to neutral, the goth then resuming her trip to her first class.

Once lunch time came around, Akari, Cho and Chise were standing before the cafeteria while Cho held Chise's hand and sighed, "Alright, you're gonna overcome your fear of the cafeteria today whether you like it or not."

Chise bit her lip and trembled all over, sweat pouring down her face as Akari gave her an encouraging smile. However, this did not help as Chise tried to bolt for it. Unfortunately for her, Cho was so strong that even with one hand, she was more than capable of holding her in place.

"Chise," Cho said, looking into her eyes, "You're a lot braver than you think you are. If you were doomed to always be afraid of your problems, you wouldn't even able to fight alongside us. Now are you really going to let the lunch room scare you for eternity?"

Chise's heart faced wildly as she put on a serious look and remarked, "No!" the girl taking a big step into the cafeteria. Akari and Cho watched in silence as she brought her other foot forward, the blond taking a deep breath as it seemed she had managed it.

However, after doing so, her body froze as Cho rolled her eyes and dragged Chise to a table to sit with them. Once Chise had sat down, her fear slowly started to leave her.

"You know, this actually isn't so bad," Chise said with a light smile, "The atmosphere is nice and there are vending machines nearby for people who forgot their lunches."

Akari smiled bright and replied, "That's the spirit," before pulling out a bento box, immediately giving half to Cho.

Chise took a deep breath and sighed, "I really can't thank you enough. You've helped me out so much."

Cho shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Hey, it's no problem. What are friends for, right?"

However, their conversation came to a halt when they noticed Hazuki staring at them through the window to the cafeteria. Chise stared to tremble again as Akari patted her on the shoulder, her fear leaving her when Hazuki wandered elsewhere.

"She's so creepy!" Chise squeaked as Cho nodded and said, "Yeah, that was really weird. It's like she has it out for us or something."

"That's silly," Akari replied, "What did we do that could have possibly upset her?"

"I don't want to be on anyone's bad side," Chise whimpered as Akari sighed, "Oh, don't worry. She has a bitter attitude toward the entire world. She probably gives lots of people stares like that."

With that, Akari got up as Cho asked, "What are you doing?" the redhead giving her friend a wink and replying, "I'm gonna go save a life."

When the girl ran off, Cho groaned and slapped her forehead, groaning, "Don't tell me she's doing what I think she's doing."

With that, Akari followed Hazuki close behind as the goth stopped in her tracks. Her eye was twitching slightly as she took a deep breath and resumed her neutral look. With that, she turned to Akari and asked, "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself," Akari replied with a big smile before holding her hand out and adding, "My name is Akari. What's yours?"

Hazuki rolled her eyes and remarked, "Look, if you're like everyone else here, you probably already know who I am. But I guess I have time to spare. Guess my name."

"Oh, you got me," Akari replied with a giggle, "You're Hazuki."

The goth rolled her eyes and remarked in a sarcastic tone, "Wow, you totally got that on the first try. I'm so impressed."

Akari simply giggled and continued to smile sweetly. Hazuki stared blankly at her and asked, "Is there something wrong with you, kid? You should really know better than to mess with me."

"But I'm not messing with you," Akari replied, "I simply want to get to know you better, maybe even be your friend."

Hazuki face-palmed before sighing, "I see what you're trying to do, but stop it, okay?"

Akari stared silently as Hazuki growled, "You know, Akari, was it? People like you make me sick."

The redhead gasped as the goth continued, "I know what kind of person you are. You're an optimist who thinks showing kindness can change anyone for the better. Well, guess what! The world isn't all sunshine, smiles and easy solutions! I'm not some misunderstood soul, okay!? I am just a girl who happens to hate the world, end of story! Now leave me alone and go back to your actual friends instead of wasting your time and effort trying to change everyone!"

Silence filled the area as Akari continued to stare for a while. It was not as if this was the first time something like this had happened, but even so, she was not used to people being this cold.

Seeing as Akari was still confused, Hazuki rolled her eyes, turned around and exited the area. She was through wasting her breath on the redhead as Cho and Chise exited the cafeteria to check up on her. The minute Cho saw her standing there, she knew exactly how the conversation had gone as she walked over to her friend and poked her on the shoulder.

This snapped Akari back to her senses as Cho rested a hand on her shoulder and sighed, "I figured this would happen. Don't take it so hard, okay?" Akari taking a deep breath and saying, "You're right. I was just so sure I could help her feel better."

Chise looked rather depressed herself as Cho stated, "Come on, let's think about something else, like the mysterious creature that killed those teens last night. Unless we figure something out, we won't be able to stop it from claiming its next victim."

"Yeah, you're right," Akari replied with a light chuckle, "I guess I did go a little over my head, didn't I?"

All the while, Hazuki stormed down the hall, grumbling curses under her breath. The nerve of Akari trying to interfere with her personal life. All her meddling did was remind Hazuki even more of why she quit school in the first place.

But just as she was tempted to leave the property all-together, she noticed the bullies who had been picking on the computer lab members earlier. Her anger became neutrality again as she walked over to them.

The group was having a conversation when Hazuki tapped one of the members, a brunette girl to be exact, on the shoulder as she turned and asked, "Oh god, what do you want?"

"Oh, nothing," Hazuki remarked, "You were just standing in my way and I wanted you to move."

"You have a lot of nerve to address me in such a manner!" the girl retorted, a boy nodding and adding, "Yeah, don't you know who we are? A freak like you has no right telling any of us to move!"

"That's funny," Hazuki replied as the girl remarked, "What's so funny!?"

"That guy with you is funny," Hazuki stated, "He's pretending to be all chivalrous by jumping to your aid and yet all he really wants is to get in your pants."

The other popular students let out a simultaneous 'Ooo' in response to this as the girl's eye twitched as she retorted, "We're just very good friends, okay!? There is no way Tenma is thinking about such things!"

The girl then turned to the boy and asked, "Right, Tenma?" only for the boy to blush brightly, uttering, "Yeah, she's right," before whistling innocently.

Hazuki simply rolled her eyes as the girl remarked, "Are you saying I'm not attractive enough!?" the others snickering while Hazuki sighed, "I don't see what all the fuss is about. When you're not insulting those less popular than you, you're lying to or making fun of each-other. And to top it all off, your leader is a hypocrite."

The other girl glared at the goth and remarked, "As I said earlier, a freak like you has no right to address us in such a way, especially one who has no hope of ever finding a soul mate."

"Yeah, beat it, witch," another girl added as another boy in the group said, "You're not welcome here."

Hazuki simply folded her arms and rolled her eyes before saying, "You know, I still need to get through here."

With that, the lead girl snapped her fingers as both boys in the group took Hazuki by the shoulders, one asking, "The courtyard?"

The lead girl nodded her head in response before having Hazuki dragged to that very location. However, Hazuki neither budged nor panicked. She simply had a smug look on her face as she said sarcastically, "Oh yeah, dragging me off to teach me a lesson. That totally proves me wrong."

"You won't have such a smart mouth when we're done with you," the lead girl retorted.

And soon enough, the group arrived in the courtyard as Hazuki was forced up against the wall by one of the boys, the goth sighing, "Look, you're handsome and all, but I'm not into this sort of thing."

"Make all the wisecracks you want," the popular leader remarked, "but you're going to pay dearly for messing with us."

The students all nodded and cracked their knuckles, all of them ready to put Hazuki in her place. But just as they were ready to wail on the goth, a smirk formed on her face as she pulled out a glowing black diamond and smirking to reveal a pair of fangs.

Shortly after lunch had ended, the intercom came on as the principal stated, "Attention, students. Five students have been found dead in the courtyard."

Everyone stared at the speaker in shock, Chise biting her lower lip and whimpering as the principal added, "The students have been identified as Tenma Yamaguchi, Ami Fukui, Hana Ito, Densuke Maki and Yuji Akiyama. We have no idea who killed them, but we are certain this must have happened during the lunch period."

Akari shook her head as Cho uttered, "Well, I can't say those five didn't deserve punishment of some kind, but damn," Chise trembling while the blue-haired girl sighed and patted her on the shoulder.

"Anyway, their parents have been notified and we have called in professionals to take care of the bodies," the principal added, "Due to these circumstances, we have cancelled school for the rest of the day. We request that all students head home while we deal with this tragedy."

Meanwhile, in a grade twelve Science class, all of the students were saddened by this news save for Hazuki who simply had a neutral look on her face. However, her neutrality became irritation when the principal added, "Except for Hazuki Kurosawa. You are to report to the office immediately."

And soon enough, the goth was in the office as the principal sat behind his desk and said, "Look, Hazuki, many students saw you being dragged into the courtyard by Tenma and Densuke," the goth rolling her eyes and remarking, "And you're saying I must have killed them in response, right?"

"Um, well..." the man replied as the goth added, "Because from what you've told me, all five had small holes in the sides of their necks. Without the right weapons on me, there's no way I could have pulled that off."

The principal blinked before having his secretary search her. Hazuki had absolutely nothing on her person and her backpack had nothing but a binder in it. She certainly seemed innocent now.

"Can I go now?" Hazuki asked as the principal replied, "Okay, but after you answer this one question. Um, did you see who commited the murder?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't," Hazuki replied with a neutral look in her eyes, "See, those five gave me this warning that if I tried to cut in front of them again, they'd give me Hell. I simply said 'whatever' and left. They must have been killed afterwards because they were still alive when I left the courtyard."

The principal nodded and turned to his secretary who shrugged in response to this. Hazuki's story did seem to check out and thus the goth was let off Scott-free. All the while, she simply rolled her eyes and thought, 'Moron.'

During this time, Akari, Cho and Chise were headed home as Chise was still trembling with Cho rubbing her shoulders. However, even the blue-haired girl had to admit that a murder during school hours was frightening. But while those two were scared, Akari seemed deep in thought.

"No, it couldn't have been her," Akari uttered as Cho asked, "What was that?" the redhead shaking her head and replying, "It's nothing. Just surprised is all."

"Can't blame you there," Cho remarked, "I can't even imagine who'd be sick and demented enough to try something like that," Chise whimpering even more while the blue-haired girl held her close and sighed, "Don't worry, no one's going to kill you on my watch."

The group went silent for a few seconds until Akari stated, "Well, even if you can't smell the culprit, we should still try to find out who's doing this. We're heroes now. That doesn't limit us to just fighting Digimon."

Cho nodded with a smirk and replied, "Yeah, that's right," Chise's eyes sparkling with admiration. Sure, the blond was still a little scared, but it was as Cho had pointed out earlier. She had dealt with large demonic creatures ever since she got her powers.

"Unfortunately, because I can't smell this enemy, we're going to have to spread out," Cho stated with a serious look, "Hopefully, no one will die until we set out. During this time, it might be a good idea to split up in order to cover more ground."

"S-S-Split up?" Chise whimpered as Akari patted her on the shoulder, saying, "That's a good idea. We can each take a third of the city. If we don't find anyone before midnight, we'll meet up downtown. Since it's Friday, I'm sure our folks would be okay with us staying out later than usual."

"But what about your parents?" Cho asked, "You told me yourself, your dad has forbidden from staying out late until the killer is caught."

"Oh, that's right," Akari uttered as Chise gulped, "Also, Mom would be really suspicious if I'm not home by ten."

The other two stared blankly at her as Cho asked, "Ten?" Chise biting her lip and uttering, "I'm more of a morning person."

"Look, we're gonna have to find some way to get around all of this," Cho remarked, "We're talking about something that's not human and that I can't detect taking people's lives. Whoever this is has already claimed eight victims. Do you want to wait until the city's population goes down to zero?"

Akari and Chise took deep breaths and shook their heads, Akari smiling bright and exclaiming, "Alright, I'll come up with something," Chise gulping and nodding her head with a light sigh.

Soon enough, the evening came around as the girls were checking out various parts of the city. To be certain, though, Cho called the other two up for a conference to make sure their parents were okay with them staying out late.

"So, how did you convince your dad?" Cho asked Akari as the redhead replied, "I simply told him I'd be out with you by my side. It took a while, but he eventually accepted it."

"And you Chise?" Cho added as the blond said, "I told Mommy you guys invited me to stay out late with you and she was so happy that I was spending time with friends that she didn't care how late I'd be."

"Good," Cho replied with a sigh, "Remember, if any of us spot the culprit, that person will phone the others immediately," Akari and Chise exclaiming, "Right!"

However, despite searching for the whole evening, neither of the girls had found anyone. And soon enough, midnight came around the corner as all three met up downtown near an alleyway.

"So, any leads at least?" Cho asked as the other two shook their heads, Akari taking a deep breath and saying, "Well, we'd better try tomorrow."

However, just as the group was about to leave, their eyes widened at the sound of a scream coming from the nearby alleyway. All three turned toward the source and wasted no time heading toward it while whipping out their diamonds. Since no one else was in the area, no one saw them transform.

However, what they saw next was a shocking sight as a familiar goth girl had a young teenaged girl and her boyfriend pinned up against a fence while holding onto their collars. She had a psychotic grin on her face as she said, "You two should have known better than to stay out all night. I hope your date was at least a good one because it's the last one you're going to have."

Before Akari, Cho and Chise could rush in and stop her though, they were surprised to see her release her hold on them before saying, "Though I guess it would be smarter to end your pathetic lives in this form instead," the goth pulling out a black diamond.

Cho's jaw dropped while Chise's eyes widened. Akari simply stared in stunned silence, neither of the three believing what they were seeing.

And before they knew it, the diamond glowed as Hazuki's form changed. Her hair became blond and her clothes vanished, soon replaced by a fancy blue suit. She now wore big black boots as a red mask formed over her eyes. Her lipstick became purple and a pair of fangs came out of the sides of her mouth. A long cape formed on her back as a golden bat emblem appeared under her neck.

The young couple before her fainted at the sight of this while Akari, Cho and Chise stared in absolute horror and shock. It seemed their theory was half-right. The culprit was certainly not human in her current state, but she was also not a Digimon and thus Cho was unable to detect her.


	9. Chapter 9

With the teenaged couple passed out, Hazuki had a perfect opportunity as she knelt down and said, "I would have liked them to squirm a bit, but at least they're not struggling."

However, just as she was about to drink their blood, Akari bit her lip and exclaimed, "Stop that!" Hazuki's eyes going wide as she turned, staring silently.

"Well, if it isn't the heroes from the news," the goth said before frowning, "And here I thought maybe you three weren't interested in me."

With that, she got up and added, "I guess these two morons will have to wait. I doubt you'll let me feed on them, right?" Chise pursing her lips and trembling as Cho patted her on the shoulder.

"I don't understand," Akari uttered, "Why would you feed on people? Why are you killing people?"

"It's because I'm a vampire," Hazuki remarked as Cho rolled her eyes and retorted, "No you're not. You're a human."

The goth's eyes widened as Chise nodded and uttered, "W-We s-s-saw you t-transform," Akari nodding and adding, "Yes, we know you're not a real vampire. You're one of us."

Hazuki took a deep breath and said, "I guess it was only a matter of time until someone found out. Still, you had to witness me transform in order the find out. As for me, I already know who you three are."

"You do?" Chise squeaked as the goth nodded and replied, "Well, I know one of you by name," pointing at the cat girl and adding, "Akari."

All three stared in shock as Hazuki added, "And as for you two," pointing at Cho and Chise respectively and stating, "You're the girls she was sitting with during lunch today, right?"

Akari gasped and uttered, "How could she tell?" as Cho sighed, "She's probably the only one who actually paid attention to your voice. Doesn't explain how she knows us. We've never talked to her."

"It's the glasses, isn't it!?" Chise whimpered, "I wish I could take these off during battle, then no one would tell it was me!"

"Wait, are you serious?" Hazuki remarked, the trio staring at her in confusion as she added, "Seriously. I was able to sense your powers the minute I saw you. Are you telling me you can't do that?"

The others shook her head as Akari tapped her chin before gasping, "I get it! It must be a side-effect of your new form!"

"A what now?" Hazuki asked as Cho explained, "Yeah, see, when each of us took on our hero forms for the first time, we each had something about us improved. For instance, I now have an incredible sense of smell and can detect Digimon from anywhere in the city no matter where they are."

Akari nodded and added, "I have improved eyesight as I can see really well in the dark," her and Cho then turning to Chise as Akari asked, "Say, Chise, what's your side-effect? I don't think we ever found out."

"I'm not really sure," Chise replied, "I haven't tried anything yet," the girl then sniffing and gasping, "I have a stronger sense of smell too!"

"Do armadillos have good senses of smell?" Cho asked as Akari nodded and replied, "I thought you knew that. You did do a report on them in grade six, remember?" Cho sighing, "That was grade six. I hardly remember any of my assignments."

"So I can detect powers now," Hazuki said with a shrug, "Seems kind of lame compared to the stuff you guys got, but I guess it'll do."

Suddenly, all three heroes realized they had gone off-track as Cho exclaimed, "That still doesn't explain why you're doing all of this! You have the powers of a hero! Why aren't you using them to protect the innocent!?"

"You actually believe these people are innocent?" Hazuki remarked, "There are very few people in this world who are truly innocent. If there is something I've learned over the years, it's that the majority of humans are hypocrites, liars and bullies, and no matter how much they try to convince us otherwise, most of them care more about themselves than others."

The others stared in confusion while the goth continued, "The point I'm trying to make is that mankind is not worth protecting. Even those who are good have a tendency to get into other people's noses. Isn't that right, Akari?"

Akari's eyes widened as Cho retorted, "Hey, don't talk about her that way! Akari's the best person I know! Think about it, she was the only one who actually took the time to try and help you when everyone else would rather flee in terror upon seeing you!"

Hazuki took a deep breath and remarked, "Look, I'm tired of this conversation. It's just like every other one I've ever had: my words are falling on deaf ears. If you want to stop me from killing people, you'll just have to do to me what you've done to every Digimon to enter Tokyo so far."

"That can be arranged!" Cho retorted before charging toward Hazuki, sending a barrage of punches while barking, "GAO RUSH!"

However, this proved futile as Hazuki easily blocked each punch with her palms. After Cho had sent twenty forward, the goth smirked and grabbed hold of her fists hard, crunching down on them while bending them back.

Cho's eyes and mouth were wide open as she cried out in pain. Despite this being a basic countermeasure, the blue-haired girl saw this was the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. Seeing this, Chise squeaked in panic before tucking into her shell and rolling behind Hazuki. Afterwards, she proceeded to roll up the fence before launching herself off toward Hazuki's back.

However, the goth saw this coming as she simply swung herself around, Cho taking in the blow instead as she howled in pain. Chise reverted out of her shell, her eyes wide open as she whimpered, "Sorry, Cho!"

As if that was not enough, Hazuki proceeded to fling Cho hard into a wall before sending a hard punch into Chise's midsection. Since Chise had just come out of her shell, she was unprepared for this and as such ended up taking in the full blunt of the hit, the girl falling hard on her back and skidding into the fence.

However, while this went on, Akari found herself unable to fight, but why? Why did she not go in to help her friends?

Hazuki seemed to notice this as she smirked, saying, "Seems Miss Optimism is scared," Cho grunting and rubbing the back of her head before grunting, "I hate to admit it, but she's got a point, Akari. We could use some help here."

However, Akari refused to move as she asked, "There's something I don't understand. When Cho, Chise and I were able to use our powers for the first time, it was because we were focused more on protecting the innocent than anything else. But you want nothing more than to end mankind, so how did you get your powers to work?"

"If what you're saying is true, then I can't really provide an answer," Hazuki replied with her arms folded, "But honestly, I don't care. All that matters to me is that I have the power to do what I want."

"But this is wrong," Akari remarked, "You were given that diamond to protect people, I know it. Whatever force gave us these powers gave them to us for the sake of good, so why are you using it for evil?"

"Because I am the only person on this planet with common sense," Hazuki retorted before gritting her teeth and holding up her finger. With that, the three heroes stared in shock as she pierced her own flesh with her right fang.

Blood dripped from the hole that formed as Hazuki exclaimed, "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" the blood forming into a whip for the goth to hold onto.

"You annoy me more than anyone I've ever met, so I think I'll dispose of you first," Hazuki stated before raising her whip, but just as she was about to send it at Akari, Cho immediately recovered from the pain dealt earlier and pounced at Hazuki with both fists aimed at the side of her head.

Unfortunately, just like before, Hazuki had seen this coming as she quickly swung her whip sideways, smacking Cho hard in the cheek. Afterwards, she proceeded to wrap it around the girl as Chise panicked, quickly rolling up into a ball again and exclaiming, "I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY FRIEND!"

Unfortunately, even if Chise had not yelled and pointed herself out, it would not have made a difference as Hazuki once again saw it coming. As such, she immediately sent out a ghost-like entity toward the blond and exclaimed, "NIGHTMARE CLAW!"

Once the shadow hit her, it ended up paralysing her as she fell hard against the concrete, now stuck in her shell. Cho growled and lunged at the goth only for her to unleash a flock of bats from her hands, shouting, "GRISLY WING!"

Cho stopped in her tracks and tried fighting off the bats only for two of them to grab her by her arms and pin her up against the wall. With both allies distracted, Akari was the only one left who could fight.

Akari turned toward Cho with concern as the blue-haired girl snapped, "Don't worry about me, Akari! Just fight!" Chise murmuring, "Why haven't you fought back yet?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Akari remarked as everyone stared in confusion, Hazuki blinking and asking, "Is it because you're a pacifist? Don't make me laugh. You had no trouble killing all those Digimon who attacked Tokyo."

"That's because when they die, they go back to their original world and start life over!" Akari squeaked, Hazuki's eyes widening as she did not realize this, the cat girl adding, "They're computer programs, so they can be reformatted and revived. You on the other hand, Hazuki, are a human. If I were to kill you, you'd never come back! You wouldn't even restart life! You'd be gone forever!"

Cho and Chise stared silently as their friend had a point. All this time, they had been trying desperately to stop Hazuki from harming people, but they had completely forgotten about that logic. Cho, especially, felt ashamed of herself as she had seen the proof.

When Fukuko died, that was the last they had seen of her. Her diamond had shattered and the spirit within had moved on. They were never going to see her again because she was not a computer program brought to life. She was a human and lived under the laws of reality that all humans had no choice to follow.

However, Hazuki simply took a deep breath and said, "You say that like it's a bad thing. Admit it, Akari, you've heard of my reputation! You know that nobody likes me because they're all self-centred tools who judge you for being different!"

Akari stared in shock as Hazuki growled, "They pick on you if you're born a certain way or if you choose to live a lifestyle that isn't like theirs. The only know how to conform and nothing else. Even the slightest hint of individuality makes you an outcast."

Hazuki remembered a time when she had friends, all the way to middle school. She had five, to be exact, and they all seemed like really nice people. And Hazuki got along well with them as they all had similar interests to hers.

Hazuki stuck with her interests all the way into high school. She had always loved things like insects, black clothing and makeup and all sorts of other dark things. Just like her, her friends were goth and it was nice being with them.

However, once Summer was over and high school rolled around, Hazuki returned to find that her friends were no longer goth. The reason they had given it up was because the media had given them the impression that they were too old for such things. Fashion shows and magazines had given them the idea that they now had to be like every super model out there.

And when they saw that Hazuki had not given up the goth lifestyle herself, they no longer wanted anything to do with her. They saw her as creepy, weird and disgusting.

Hazuki developed a great bitterness after that. She could not believe it. After being friends with these people for almost ten years, they would relinquish their friendship with her just like that. And from that moment on, Hazuki vowed to never make friends again and be the repulsive freak they thought she was.

And it seemed like she was right. From that moment on, everybody avoided her. Even other goths were terrified of her, so she simply viewed them as posers. Needless to say, when she was given the diamond that would turn her into this new form, she embraced the opportunity and immediately took advantage of it, using her new power to get vengeance on the world.

"You might think you're all something special, that you're all good people, but deep down, you're all just as bad as the rest of them!" Hazuki exclaimed, "You can't accept me for who I am either, therefor you deserve to suffer just like everyone else!"

Cho and Chise panicked as Akari took a deep breath. However, the others were shocked when she had a serious look in her eyes, the cat girl glaring at Hazuki. Cho was definitely not used to seeing such a look in Akari's eyes. In fact, she had never once seen her look angry in her life.

Chise may not have known Akari for long, but even she could tell that the cat girl was not the kind of person to get mad at others. And yet there was no mistaking it: this was definitely a look of fury.

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Hazuki asked smugly only for Akari to snap, "I've tried being nice! I've tried talking sense into you! Clearly, you're not going to listen to reason!"

With that, the girl gritted her teeth and flashed her claws forward, exclaiming, "I thought I could help you, but you're a lost cause! I may not like it, but if I have to fight to protect those in need, let alone my own friends, then so be it!"

With that, the cat girl lunged at Hazuki with her claws out, shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

But just as she threw her right arm forward, the goth simply stepped to the side and grabbed hold of the girl's arm. A wicked smile cross her face as she gazed into her opponent's eyes and said, "Well, it seems this kitty does have claws. Too bad for you it's too little too late."

Akari's fear had returned as she found herself unable to struggle. Chise and Cho both stared wide-eyed, still unable to help their friend as Hazuki stepped behind Akari, resting her hands against her shoulders.

"AKARI, YOUR HANDS ARE FREE!" Cho exclaimed, but Akari seemed unable to fight back as Hazuki laughed wickedly, saying, "Unfortunately for your friend, those who look deep into my eyes end up in a trance for thirty seconds, which is more time than I could possibly need."

With that, Hazuki opened her mouth wide as her fangs grew slightly longer. Cho and Chise both felt so helpless right now as the goth proceeded to lower her head closer to Akari's shoulders. And once she was close enough, she pressed her mouth hard against the cat girl's shoulder, piercing her flesh as she cried out in pain, her eyes and mouth wide open.

"AKARI!" Chise exclaimed as gritted her teeth, letting out a loud battle cry while her body started to glow.

With that, she changed into her second form, her headband becoming a scarf and her vest and tube top switching colours. With that, she took a deep breath and howled to unleash a vortex of wind from her mouth while barking, "SPIRAL BLOW!" This proved more than enough to repel the bats, thus she was now free to rejoin the fight.

With that, she bounded toward Hazuki and pounced at her with her fists at the ready, the goth still drinking Akari's blood. However, she knew better than to try both fists again and as such sent one fist forward.

Hazuki noticed this and quickly removed her fangs from Akari's shoulder. After that, she grabbed hold of Cho's arm only for the blue-haired girl to ram her other fist hard into the goth's forehead. Since her boxing gloves now had spikes on them, this punched managed to draw a bit of blood.

Unfortunately, Hazuki was not going to let this finish her off as she flung the blue-haired into a wall, taking a deep breath. Unfortunately, after losing quite a bit of blood, Akari was feeling too weak to fight as she held onto her bleeding shoulder and took deep breaths, a look of terror on her face.

"I'll admit, I didn't think your friend was capable of a decent strategy," Hazuki said with a smirk before leaning down and adding, "But it didn't make much of a difference, did it?"

Unfortunately for the goth, Chise had just recovered from her paralysis as she rolled toward the goth again. Hazuki was once again ready, but just like with Cho, Chise had managed to catch her off guard by changing her strategy. Rather than trying to roll into the goth, she instead retracted from her shell and swung her feet upward, striking Hazuki's chin while shouting, "DIAMOND SLAMMING!"

Once again, this managed to draw a bit of blood, but Hazuki would not fall so easily to two attacks no matter how strong they were. And as such, she simply grabbed onto Chise's tail and swung her hard into the wall opposite of the one she had sent Cho into. Akari's eyes were wide with sheer terror now as the vampire took a deep breath and turned to her with a wicked grin.

"I have to admit, I'm kind of disappointed," Hazuki said, "I was expecting so much better from the mighty heroes who defeat Digimon for a living. Just think, if I was trying to protect my own kind, you three would be out of a job because clearly, I'm leaps and bounds ahead of you."

However, rather than looking depressed, Akari simply looked up at the goth with a light smile and said, "Well, we tried our best and failed. If killing at least one of us makes you happy, take me, but please, let my friends live."

Hazuki frowned and remarked, "As if. You're only saying that to earn yourself a place in heaven," Akari shaking her head and replying, "No. You might think everyone's a liar, but not everyone is that bad. And even the most selfish people on Earth are capable of thinking about others every now and then. You seem to think everyone should be perfect, but no one's perfect, not even you."

Hazuki went silent for a few seconds before gritting her teeth and retorting, "SHUT UP!"

With that, the goth summoned more bats to pin Akari up against a wall just in case she tried to fight back. But just as the goth was ready to drain her of the rest of her blood, a small white cat standing on two legs appeared before Akari in her mind. She had a very similar look to Akari's cat girl form and even had a ring on the end of her tail.

"Are you my spirit?" Akari asked as the cat nodded and replied, "Yes. My name is Gatomon. I had a feeling you'd catch on quickly. You really are a bright one."

"Wow, you're so cute!" Akari squeaked with a big grin only for the cat to purr briefly before shaking her head and remarking, "Look, now is not the time for this! I came before you because I feel you've earned the right to Digivolve."

"Digivolve?" Akari asked as the cat nodded and replied, "Yes, that's what it's called when someone like you changes to a more powerful form, like what Fukuko and Cho have managed to do so far."

"But why couldn't I do it before?" Akari asked as Gatomon replied, "It's because while you were willing to accept the task before you, you were still unwilling to face an opponent that could die forever. Not only were you willing to do that just now but you also had the decency to give her a chance, showing that you also possess a great deal of common sense. Now I know I can fully trust you as Tokyo's protector."

Akari smiled bright and replied, "Thanks. That means so much coming from a spirit."

"I bet it does," Gatomon replied with a grin before adding, "Anyway, to unlock the power to Digivolve, you must wish for it, but only do it under the most dire of circumstances. You can only stay in a Digivolved state for a very short amount of time a day, so it's best to use it sparingly. In fact, Cho has reverted back to her weaker state in real time."

And as it just so happened, the cat was telling the truth as Cho had returned to the form giving to her by Gaomon. Needless to say, this was a lot to take in.

And with all said and done, Akari's body started to glow as the bats flew away in fear, Hazuki's eyes widening. She could not believe what she was seeing. What did this glow mean?

It was soon made clear when Akari's entire form changed. Her cat fur vanished and was replaced a snow white shoulderless top with a hole in the middle of it, two solid gold angel wings as breastplates and only one pant leg covering her left leg to be precise. Her fur shoes had been replaced by two high-heel shoes. The left shoe had black stitching along its middle while the right was covered in feathers. Eight angel wings came out of her back while a long glove formed on her left hand, her right one now bare. To top it all off, Akari's hair grew long and turned blond while a silver battle mask formed over her face. Finally, a white bow formed in her right hand.

Hazuki was still in shock as the girl took a deep breath and cupped her hands together. An energy ring formed over her head and rained down a brilliant light as she said, "Holy Air."

This ended up healing both Chise and Cho, their eyes wide open as Cho said, "Wow, I feel better than ever," before looking at her boxing gloves without their spikes and sighing, "Seems my spirit wasn't kidding about the time limit."

Chise was just glad to be alive right now. However, their relief became surprise when they noticed Akari's new look, the girl beaming and squealing, "Oh my god, I can heal now! That is so cool!"

"Oh my god," Cho uttered, "Akari, you've become an angel," before groaning, "So Fukuko and I become new versions of the same species and she becomes an angel. Yeah, that makes perfect sense."

"So pretty," Chise uttered with sparkling eyes as Hazuki growled, "Whatever! Even if you have a new form, you still can't beat me!"

With that, the goth once again bit her finger and formed a whip. But as she sent it toward Akari, the angel simply grabbed it as her hand released a brilliant light. Hazuki's eyes widened as the blood whip hardened and disintegrated into red dust.

With that, Akari held up her bow and pulled back in the string when an arrow made entirely out of light appeared. Hazuki stared in fear as the angel released the arrow and exclaimed, "CELESTIAL ARROW!"

With that, the arrow flew straight into Hazuki's gut as she cried out in pain. The goth fell to the ground and returned to her human form while the others simply stared in shock. With that out of the way, Akari smiled softly and flew over to her opponent but did nothing more.

Suddenly, the teens who had passed out earlier came to as the boy rubbed his head, groaning, "What happened."

Upon seeing the unconscious Hazuki, he pointed and exclaimed, "OH RIGHT, SHE ATTACKED US!" the girl nodding and uttering, "She changed into that vampire that's been killing people!"

"Oh no she didn't," Akari replied as the two looked at her, the angel adding, "You are right, the vampire was here, but she jumped in the way and tried to fight it off only to end up knocked out. It happened so quickly that you probably saw it a different way. But rest assured that the vampire is dead now."

"We have no idea who you are, but thank you so much, angel from heaven," the boy said, Cho folding her arms as Chise smiled sweetly at the couple.

With that, the two teens left as Hazuki slowly regained consciousness and uttered, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Akari asked as Hazuki groaned, "Why would you defend me like that? Furthermore, you had a perfect chance to kill me and you didn't. Again, why would you do that?"

Cho and Chise both turned to Akari with a big smile as Cho smirked and stated, "Hate to break it to you, but Akari really is the nice person she believes herself to be. No matter how cruel you are, she will never kill you."

Hazuki's eyes went wide as Akari added, "Besides, I can tell deep down that you're really a good person. You're just misguided is all."

A tear fell down Hazuki's cheek as she sniffed, "I... I don't deserve your mercy," the other three staring as she added, "Think about it. I've killed people who did nothing to deserve it. I should rot in prison. In fact, you had a perfect chance to kill me. Why didn't you take it?"

Akari gave the goth a warm smile and replied, "It's like Cho said. I would never kill anyone no matter what. The only reason I kill Digimon is because I know they'll at least come back to life and whatever control they have over them won't be there anymore. You, on the other hand are a human, so you wouldn't come back if you died."

Hazuki stared as the redhead returned to normal before saying, "Besides, I'm pretty sure someone out there would be really upset if you were gone."

"Who?" Hazuki asked as Cho sighed, "I know where she's going with this. Hazuki, you seem to think no one would miss you, but what about your family?"

Hazuki's eyes went wide as she let out a light gasp. They were right. During all these years that she had spent shutting people out, her mother and father still cared about her. Her mother had told her to start going to school again so she would have a better life and her father had actually gone out of his way to try and get her a job during her time away from school just so she could make a living. As if that was not bad enough, Hazuki would always purposely botch every interview just so she would not have to conform to man's way of life, and right now she felt like she had wasted all of her father's efforts.

Not only that, but Hazuki even had a small black collie named Stella. Every time Hazuki came home, no matter how little she deserved it, that dog would always be excited to see her. She was the one being who was able to keep Hazuki happy during all this time. She would certainly be sad if the goth died.

With all this in mind, Hazuki let down even more tears and pursed her lip only for Akari to give her a warm smile and say, "Go ahead. We won't judge," Cho and Chise nodding.

With that, Hazuki started bawling her eyes out. It had been years since she had herself a cry and strangely enough, it felt good to finally let it all out. Sure, her eyeliner was running now, but that hardly mattered.

Once that was all taken care of, the girls were walking home as Hazuki sniffed, "I'm going to make amends with my parents then I'm going to turn myself into the police."

"Wait, what was that second part?" Cho asked as the goth sighed, "Look, I deserve to rot in prison for what I've done. We're not talking about random attacks. We're talking about murder here!"

Akari simply frowned and shook her head, saying, "No, you can't go to prison. We need you to help us fight the Digimon," Hazuki retorting, "But I deserve to be punished for my actions."

"And taking an arrow to the gut wasn't punishment enough?" Chise asked as the others stared at her, the blond uttering, "Just... just saying."

"Well, if you really think you deserve it, consider your duties as a hero community service," Akari replied with a bright smile, "as issued by me, a professional superhero."

Hazuki knew Akari was joking with that, but it seemed to brighten her spirits as she snickered and let out a light laugh. As if her crying was not strange enough, it had been ages since she last laughed at a joke. Perhaps Hazuki really did have a bright future ahead of her.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a bright Saturday morning as Akari was sound asleep in her bed. After all, she had not gone to bed until two last night. Needless to say, her parents were relieved when she called them to say she was headed home. And of course it was the same deal with the others, though Akari's parents were slightly less worried. After all, they trusted their daughter more than most parents would have.

But once noon rolled around the girls finally woke up, they decided to use this peaceful time to hang out, but not before spending at least a little bit of time with their parents. After all, they had all been out super late and as such, they needed an alibi. Chise especially needed to reassure her mom that she had not been doing anything dangerous despite the fact that she definitely was.

And so the main trio met up downtown for a late brunch as Cho looked at her watch asking, "So, just to be clear, you did call up Hazuki, right?"

Akari nodded and replied, "She said she would be here soon. Apparently, she's clearing up something really important with her parents first."

At that moment, the three girls noticed the goth in question walking toward them with a light smile. The trio waved as she took a seat, pulling out a water bottle with some kind of red liquid in it and taking a sip.

"Wow, I've been invited to hang out," Hazuki said with a grin, "I'd forgotten how good that felt."

"So, what were you doing that was so important?" Cho asked as Chise nodded and uttered, "Yeah, I'd like to know," the blond having gotten over her fear of the goth.

"Well, I know you guys probably wouldn't approve of this, and I'll admit, I wasn't sure if I should have," Hazuki replied, the other girls staring in confusion as she added, "Well, the first thing I did was apologize to them for the years of neglect and, well, me being an ingrate."

"Why wouldn't we approve of that?" Cho remarked as Hazuki held up her hand and stated, "Let me finish. Afterwards, I told them about this," the goth pulling out her diamond.

After a few seconds, the trio realized what she meant before barking, "YOU DID WHAT!?" Akari and Chise clasping their hands over their mouths while everyone stared. It was so unlike either of them to yell, let alone in such a loud tone.

"Seriously, are you crazy?" Cho asked with a look of concern, "They totally kicked you out of the house, didn't they? They've probably called the cops to-"

"No," Hazuki replied with a sigh, "I thought for sure they were going to, but they didn't. I mean, yes, they did freak out at first but they eventually accepted the fact that I have powers and that I'm going to help you guys fight the Digimon from now on."

The goth flashed a grin as Cho took a deep breath, sighing, "You didn't tell them about the murders, did you?" Hazuki remarking, "Are you kidding? If I told them that, Mom would have a heart attack. But I did tell them that my super form happens to be that of a vampire."

With that, the girl took another sip of her red drink as Cho said, "It is good you'll be sticking with fruit juice instead of blood from now on."

"Oh no, this is blood," Hazuki replied as the others stared, Chise uttering, "W-Why are you d-d-drinking blood?"

"Well, it seems my transformation had another side-effect," the goth replied, "Believe it or not, I don't actually need to be in my super form to drink blood. For whatever reason, it turned me half-vampire, so I can still walk around during the day but I need blood to survive."

The others stared in disbelief until she grinned and flashed a pair of fangs, though these ones were smaller than those of her transformed state. Needless to say, Chise just about fainted when she saw them, Cho holding her hands over her own neck.

"Don't worry," Hazuki said with a chuckle, "I won't drink from you guys without permission. Besides, my parents have agreed to give me some of their blood everyday in this water bottle so I don't get hungry. Though to avoid blood-loss, they can only fill it less than a quarter full."

"Why not use a smaller bottle?" Cho asked as Hazuki replied, "We don't have smaller ones. We see no reason to keep those."

"Well, it's great things turned out so well," Akari said with a big smile, Hazuki nodding and replying, "Thank you for showing me the light. You know, looking back, this whole thing was just stupid on my part."

"Well, at least you're on our side now," Cho stated as Chise nodded, whimpering a bit while Cho rolled her eyes and patted her on the shoulder.

However, while the girls started eating the food before them, they were interrupted when a young girl with long silver hair approached them with a sophisticated look on her face. The quartet stared at her while Cho looked around, asking, "Are you looking for someone?"

"Well, I was, but now I've found you," the girl replied with an elegant tone of voice, all three rather surprised. See, this was not just some ordinary girl standing before them.

She was wearing a fancy red dress with a blue gemstone on each shoulder. She wore fancy high-heel shoes to match, wore a fancy golden ring with a different-coloured stone on each finger, had silver earrings shaped like moons and even wore a necklace studded with diamonds, including a red one in the centre that stuck out from the others.

"I don't believe we've met," Akari said before sporting a big smile and adding, "I'm Akari. Nice to meet you."

The fancy girl blinked and stared as Akari extended her hand. With that, she proceeded to pull out a magnifying glass before holding up to her eye and examining the redhead's palm. Once that was over with, she nodded and held out her own saying, "Charmed," before shaking it.

"What was that about?" Cho asked as the girl in the dress remarked, "Well, I can't simply shake an unclean hand. Luckily, your friend here seems to be a very clean person, which is quite impressive for a commoner."

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Cho asked with a look of irritation, the other girl sighing, "Alas, I figured you'd all have the common courtesy to introduce yourselves first, but I guess it is impolite for me to hold back such information."

With that, the girl held her hand to her chest and said in a slightly more elegant tone, "I am Asami Oshiro."

"Wait, is your father Akihiko Oshiro?" Cho asked as Asami replied, "Why, yes he is."

The quartet stared in absolute shock as that was the name of the richest man in Tokyo. No wonder this girl before them looked so fancy.

"Wait, so you must go to that really expensive school for really smart people, right?" Cho asked as Asami nodded and replied, "You yes, taking classes at Yutaka is really something most could only dream about."

Chise bit her lip as she felt nervous in this girl's presence. It was like having a celebrity walk over and talk to her. How could someone like her feel comfortable in this kind of situation?

However, Hazuki seemed perfectly fine after a few seconds as she asked, "So, why are you talking to us?"

Before Asami could respond, Cho noticed the red diamond in the middle of the silver-haired girl's necklace and said, "That diamond looks a lot like the ones we-" only for the others to hold their hands over her mouth as she murmured, "Oh, right, sorry."

"Oh, no need to be so secretive," Asami replied, "My diamond is indeed the same kind that you four possess," all four going wide-eyed.

"How do you...?" Hazuki uttered as Asami replied, "Oh, I believe it was last week when one of those horrible demonic creatures attacked the shopping mall. My butler and I were on our way out when I caught a glimpse of you four hiding and transforming into your superhero forms while using those diamonds as a means of doing so. Though I do remember there only being three of you."

"I'm a new addition to the team," Hazuki stated as Asami nodded and said, "Well, then, it seems you will be getting two new allies within a short time frame because the morning after, I awoke to find this very diamond right next to my bed."

The girl then pointed at the red diamond again as the others nodded, Cho saying, "Well, that's cool. Welcome to the team."

"Actually, there is one problem," Asami replied with a sigh as Akari asked, "Do you have a really busy schedule?"

"Oh, heavens no," Asami replied, shaking her head, "I can alter my schedule as I please. The problem is, well, I don't know how to use my diamond. I was hoping maybe you ladies could teach me."

The others nodded at one-another as Akari said, "Hazuki somehow activated hers through other means, but we activated our diamonds by thinking about nothing more than protecting those in need."

Cho nodded and added, "There is a bit more to that, though. Just simply thinking about it is not enough. You have to seriously put that thought above all else, like, try not to think too hard about anything else."

"Is that all?" Asami replied with a chuckle, "Why, that sounds like the simplest thing ever. I can do that."

Akari, Cho and Chise were not so sure. After all, they had all tried this before and they all had trouble figuring out exactly how it would work. As if that was not enough, Asami did not seem to know exactly what she was getting herself into.

However that train of thought would have to wait as a young man asked, "Excuse me, Mistress Asami, are you done over there?" the rich girl turning and replying, "Almost, Muso. Get the car ready," the man bowing his head and replying, "Yes, my lady."

"So, how exactly is it that you always know where the monsters are at the right moment?" Asami asked as Cho replied, "My form has given me an enhanced sense of smell, so I can always tell when there's an attack no matter how far I am from the area."

Asami nodded and said, "That is certainly helpful. But what if I am busy, perhaps with school work. I wouldn't want to cut classes just to scout the city all the time."

Akari simply gave the silver-haired girl a smile and replied, "When Cho detects a Digimon, she calls us up on our cellphones. Otherwise, we patrol the city so we can be nearby."

"Of course," Asami replied before pulling out a beautifully decorated gold phone and adding, "Just tell me your numbers and I will add you all to my contacts list."

The group stared as Cho muttered, "Does she have anything that isn't made from some expensive material?" as Akari nudged her before gladly sharing her number. And soon enough, the others followed suit before Asami gave hers to them.

"Splendid," the rich girl said with a grin, "I am looking forward to this! I'm going to be a hero and everyone will love me!"

With that, the girl sprinted off toward her butler who was still waiting for her. The other four girls stared at this as Akari smiled bright, the others looking uncertain. Asami did not seem the least bit ready for hero work.

However, they were not going to let this down as later that evening the group set off for their usual patrol work. Of course, only Hazuki's parents actually knew what she was doing while the others convinced their parents that they were at the library studying.

Once the teens met up with each-other, Cho looked around and said, "Akari, you called up Asami to let her know what we were doing, right?"

"Yeah," Akari replied with a light smile, "I'm sure she's just a little late," Hazuki shrugging and replying, "Yeah, I was a little late meeting up with you guys, so there's probably a good reason.

However, the group was taken off-guard when they heard the sound of beating propellers above their heads. And sure enough, when they looked up, they saw a chopper hovering right above them before making a safe landing where no one would get hurt. The girls shielded their eyes when the propeller blades blew a cloud of dust toward them.

"Please don't tell me-" Cho grunted only for her suspicions to be proven correct as Asami stepped out of the chopper and said, "Thank you, Muso. I'll call you up when I'm ready to head home," her butler nodding and replying, "Yes, my lady."

And with that, the chopper took off as many bystanders stared, Cho gritting her teeth. But just as she was about to lash out, Akari held her shoulder and shook her head before walking over to Asami with a smile.

Asami had a different set of clothes this time. Rather than wearing a fancy, expensive dress, she instead wore a rather expensive-looking training outfit with no sleeves and jewels covering it.

"Is everything she has covered in jewelry?" Cho muttered to Chise as the blond snickered, Akari looking at Asami and saying, "It's good you could join us."

"I'm not surprised to hear you say that," the rich girl replied, "After all, with everyone else looking so vulgar, you could use a more dignified and attractive member. If anything, people should follow your example, Akari. You prove that even those with little money can afford to look good."

"Um, thanks?" Akari replied, for once feeling unsure of how to respond to a compliment like that while Asami added, "Sorry for my tardiness. I needed to find the right outfit. After all, a dress is not suitable for battle, don't you agree?"

"That doesn't matter," Cho remarked as Asami glared and retorted, "Doesn't matter!? Oh, I guess that's easy for someone dressed like a street punk to say!"

Just as Cho was ready to roll up her sleeves, Chise laughed nervously and uttered, "What she means is that when you transform, your clothes will be replaced by new ones, so your dress wouldn't get ruined anyway."

Asami nodded and replied, "Oh, I guess I should have known that seeing as that happened to you three when you transformed. But still, what's done is done," Cho whispering, "Thanks for stopping me, Chise. I don't know what I would have done to her."

"Well, I think the outfit looks more than fitting enough," Akari said with a big smile, once again trying her best to be nice.

"Thank you so much," Asami said with a smile of her own, "You are too king to be hanging out with these ruffians," before pointing at Chise and adding, "Except her. She seems decent."

"Look, can we just start patrolling already?" Hazuki asked as Asami replied, "Well, of course. Isn't that what we came all the way out here for?" Cho gritting her teeth while Chise held her back.

With that, the group set off as Akari said, "Asami, it's nice you found a quick way to get here, but we'd prefer it if you kept more of a low profile. If we draw too much attention to ourselves, people might know what we're doing and we don't want others knowing our identities."

"Well, I look more than natural enough," the girl replied as Cho remarked, "She means try coming in a quieter and more subtle way."

"Oh, then I should take the limo here instead?" Asami asked as the others stared, Cho tapping her chin and replying, "Actually, that's not bad."

"I have another question," Hazuki stated, "Do your folks know what you're doing right now? I got the impression that butler knows exactly what that diamond of yours is and why you'd want to spend time with us."

"Oh, heavens no," Asami replied, "There are lots of things my family will gladly let me do, but my parents would never approve of me fighting monsters. They'd say it was too dangerous and that I'd get my clothes dirty."

"Why am I not surprised they'd care about something like that?" Cho muttered, Chise once again snickering as Asami turned to the two, both sporting natural looks as the rich girl turned to Akari.

"So, what do you suppose I'll become when I transform?" the silver-haired girl asked, "Considering how stunningly beautiful and important I am, I bet I'll be mixed with something absolutely gorgeous, like a Persian cat or maybe a horse. In fact, there might even be a unicorn form for me."

Cho slapped her forehead, wanting so much to call Asami out on how shallow she was being. But she kept quiet knowing that arguing would get them nowhere.

After a couple of hours, Asami took a deep breath and knelt down, groaning, "How do you put up with all this searching!?"

Cho simply glared and retorted, "That is the tenth time you've asked us this! Do you want to protect Tokyo or not!?"

Asami nodded and remarked, "Of course I do! This is a duty that the fates have given me and I take it very seriously!" the girl then adding, "It's just, do we really need to be together at all times? Can't you just call me up when something appears?"

Akari gave Cho a look of concern as the blue-haired girl sighed, "Look, we used to think that kind of approach was okay, but it proved too difficult. We found out it's better to stick together, so that's why we all get out to patrol when we have the time."

Asami simply pouted and folded her arms before uttering, "Well, okay. I guess I can't always have it my way," Akari smiling bright and replying, "That's the right attitude to have."

"I bet admitting that was the hardest thing she's ever done," Cho whispered as Chise and Hazuki were both resisting the urge to break out into hysterics. However, they immediately stopped trying when Asami turned to look at them.

However, Cho's nose started to twitch as she said, "Guys, there's a Digimon near the hospital."

"Digimon?" Asami asked as Akari nodded and replied, "That's the name of the creatures."

Asami nodded and replied, "Well, now I know what to call them when I'm giving my victory speech," Cho twitching all over while resisting the urge to strangle the rich girl.

Even so, such thoughts would have to wait as the group headed toward the hospital. Asami was going slightly slower out of a fear of ruining her fancy shoes. Sure, she was not wearing high heels, but the shoes were still made an expensive and delicate material that could get damaged if overworked.

Soon enough, the group arrived to see a giant scorpion with blades for legs and another for its tail spike. Asami's eyes went wide at the sight of this as the bug was just about to strike the side of the hospital with its tail.

However, Akari noticed no one else was outside to see them and as such, all four transformed. However, while the others became their usual forms, Hazuki became a different form. Her skin turned pale as usual, but rather than her suit, she was wearing a black tube top and a matching speedo. Small belts formed around her ankles as she sported a pair of black shoes, the left one having a picture of a red bat on it. Bandages covered her right arm as a pair of horns came out the sides of her head, her hair staying black. To top it off, she also had a pair of bat wings coming out of her back.

"What is this?" the girl asked before sighing, "Something tells me this form is weaker than my other one."

"Whatever, we have a job to do," Cho replied with a shrug as the girls headed toward the scorpion.

Asami simply stared in amazement before shaking her head and thinking, 'Right, I need to think about protecting people.'

And with that, she closed her eyes as a smile formed on her face, the girl thinking, 'Yes, and when I save the day, I'll be on the news. People will recognize me as a hero. Sure, they won't know who I really am, but at least I'll have done something of value.'

However, after a few seconds, it suddenly dawned on her that her diamond had not worked. Her eyes went wide as she looked down with confusion.

But it seemed the others might not have needed her as Akari sent her claws hard into the scorpion's forehead. Cho added to the damage with a hard punch to the same spot while Chise rammed her shell hard into its back.

With her new form, Hazuki proceeded to spread her new wings out while exclaiming, "RAZOR WING!" unleashing a powerful dark wind toward the scorpion as its eyes closed tightly.

Asami simply stared in helplessness, biting her lower lip when suddenly, it seemed the scorpion had not taken in any pain whatsoever. This was made apparent when it fired a beam of energy from its tail toward Chise. The girl was still tucked into her shell, so she did not feel the full blunt of the attack, but it was still strong enough to hurt as she was sent hurtling into a lamppost.

The scorpion proceeded to beat its feet repeatedly against the ground as it conjured up streams of sand in the form of bullets and launched them toward the others. All three girls took in the hits hard before flying away from the bug.

"Oh no!" Asami gasped before closing her eyes and growling, "Come on, work, you stupid thing!"

However, the diamond still refused to activate as the other four stared at the scorpion, already breathing heavily despite each one only taking in one hit. Needless to say, this was not going to be easy.


	11. Chapter 11

Things were not looking good. The heroes' fight with the scorpion had not lasted long and yet each one had already taken in quite a bit of pain, and from one attack no less. And to make things more complicated, the news crew had just shown up with Juri in front of the camera.

"Well, things are not looking good for Tokyo today," the woman said as Asami panicked and ran behind a tree. After all, she did not want her parents to know she was there in the line of danger, let alone anyone see her transform if her diamond decided to work.

"Despite the heroes now having a mysterious new forth member," Juri added, "it looks as if they have already taken in a good beating from this giant scorpion. Have they finally met their match?"

"You act like this isn't a big deal," the cameraman remarked as Juri sighed, "I'm supposed to be calm when giving a report! It's part of the job..." the woman suddenly realizing the camera was still rolling as she uttered, "description."

Hearing this, Akari took a deep breath and sported a warm smile, saying, "Come on, we've dealt with worse," Cho nodding and replying, "True, Hazuki in her vampire form was pretty tough."

Hazuki stared as Cho uttered, "No offence," before the four girls positioned themselves upright. After all, they could not allow a single hit to bring them down that easily.

With that in mind, Cho said, "Alright, seems this thing's body is harder than we first thought. But we know what to do about that, right?"

Chise nodded and tucked back into her shell, Akari getting her claws ready while Cho held her fists up. Hazuki had a feeling she knew what they meant and it seemed her suspicions were proven right when Cho exclaimed, "Everyone aim for the forehead!"

Asami blinked and peered out from behind the tree. Their strategy certainly sounded logical as the four girls lunged toward the scorpion. However, the Digimon was not going to let them get close so easily as it threw its feelers forward in an attempt to catch at least one of them.

"DEATH CLAW!" Hazuki exclaimed as her nails turned into long black claws, the goth using them to strike the incoming feelings as the scorpion winced in pain. While its main body was tough, its feelings were a lot thinner thus making them easier to take advantage of.

However, the others were confident that even without Hazuki adding to the force, their combined attacks would still hurt the scorpion all three hit him hard. Akari slashed it with her claws while Cho punched it hard with both her fists, Chise adding to the damage with her shell.

Asami breathed a sigh of relief as the scorpion felt a twinge of pain from this. This was made evident when the bug winced, rubbing its forehead.

With that, the four girls grinned as Hazuki exclaimed, "Try dealing with us now!" the goth now joining the others as all of them went in to deliver another hit.

However, the scorpion saw this coming. And unfortunately, the pain they had dealt was not enough to keep it distracted for long. As such, the bug simply swished its blades in front of its face rapidly thus hitting the girls all at once.

All four cried out in pain and flew back, their bodies now covered in small cuts as Hazuki panicked, exclaiming, "OH NO!" the girl biting onto one of her cuts and sucking on it.

Seeing this, Asami could not help but feel useless. With that, she took a deep breath and held onto her diamond while thinking, 'Please, diamond, I want to help them. I want to protect people and be a hero! But make sure I look beautiful!'

Unfortunately, despite all of her concentration and focus, the diamond refused to activate. Asami's eyes were wide open, panic running down her spine. What could she possibly do?

However, as things got worse, Cho took a deep breath and smirked at Akari, asking, "Hey, the situations dire enough. How's about you and I unleash our secret weapon?"

Akari smiled and nodded as the two closed their eyes and thought, 'Please, give me the power to protect those in need."

And with that, Cho changed form as her headband became a scarf, her top clothes switched colours and spikes came out of her boxing gloves. However, Akari had not changed, the girl's eyes wide open as she blinked and looked at her gloves.

"What happened!?" she squeaked, "My spirit said all I had to do was wish it!" Cho shrugging and replying, "We don't have time to think about that."

And this was certainly true as the scorpion crawled over to them with its blades at the ready. Chise squeaked in terror when Cho dashed in front of her, using her spikes to block and incoming strike.

"SPIRAL BLOW!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed as she unleashed a fierce gust of wind from her mouth. Unfortunately, this did not have the desire result as the scorpion had no reaction to the attack.

But just as it was about to fire a beam from its tail, Hazuki flew behind it and grabbed hold of that very part. With that, she used all her might to point the tip downward as the scorpion ended up shooting itself in the back, the bug crying out in agony.

"You rock, Hazuki!" Cho exclaimed before sending both her claws into the scorpion's forehead while barking, "DASH DOUBLE CLAW!"

However, despite her being in a more powerful state, this still only dealt minimal damage as the scorpion proceeded to swing its tail around. Hazuki's eyes widened as she found herself flung into a lamppost, Cho's eyes widening when the scorpion proceeded to send its blades at her.

Cho held her new spikes in front of her face like shields, but these only provided small protection as she wound up flying backwards. Akari ignored the fact that her further transformation had failed as she and Chise lunged toward the bug only to end up meeting a similar fate.

Asami breathed heavily as she gritted her teeth. She no longer cared if anyone heard her as she spat, "YOU KNOW WHAT!? FINE! IF YOU DON'T WANNA WORK, I DON'T CARE! I'M GOING TO GO IN THERE AND HELP MY NEW FRIENDS! IF YOU DECIDE TO WORK, I DON'T CARE IF YOU TURN ME INTO A SNAIL! IT'S BETTER THAN NOTHING!"

The news crew turned toward the tree and stared, but just as Asami was about to step out and expose herself, her diamond started to glow. The girl's eyes went wide as she had finally managed to make it work.

With that, the girl's hair turned snow white as orange war paint formed on her cheeks and forehead. A small belt appeared around her head with a feather sticking up from the back. Her clothes vanished and were replaced by a red tube top and a pair of red shorts, both made out of feathers. A pair of orange shoes with what looked like talons coming out of them appeared on her feet as her arms were now covered in feathers, forming wings.

The rich girl took a deep breath before looking down at her outfit, her cheeks turning pink as she felt herself to be a little too exposed. And to think she had become a bird of all creatures, and not a swan or something elegant like that.

However, the girl quickly shook her head and said, "Doesn't matter," before flying out into the open while everyone stared, Akari's eyes sparkling as Cho said, "Wow, she actually figured it out."

"Well, it would seem a fifth hero has appeared," Juri stated, "It makes me wonder how many other heroes are stationed here in Tokyo. For all we know, there might be a whole organization of heroes on standby, but whatever the case, this is certainly good news for us."

The scorpion glared at Asami as she stopped before the Digimon and exclaimed, "You're going to pay for everything you've done!" the girl reaching back and picking the feather out from her head belt before shouting, "FEATHER STRIKE!"

With that, the girl hurled the feather toward the scorpion like a boomerang as it struck the bug hard in the forehead. However, while it did seem to feel some pain from this, it seemed this was only because it had been hit in that spot so many times already. Asami may have been able to fight now, but it seemed her form was weaker than the others.

"Well, I can't expect great results from a feather," the girl uttered, "Why did I even know to use it like that anyway?"

With that, the girl proceeded to soar toward the scorpion while a light shone in front of her mouth. The light soon vanished to reveal a beak in place of her mouth while the bug shot beams at her only for the girl to gracefully dodge them.

Once close enough, she proceeded to ram her beak hard into the scorpion's forehead while shouting, "BEAK PECKER!" jabbing it repeatedly into said spot like a woodpecker.

However, while this certainly showed more of an effect, it still seemed this was not good enough as the scorpion sent its tail blade toward her. But as the girl braced herself, Hazuki lunged forward and stopped it with her claws.

Asami's eyes widened as Cho, who had reverted back to her first form, smirked and said, "Nice job, Asami, but this is a team effort."

The rich girl nodded and exclaimed, "Well, then, let's show this beast what we're made of!"

With that, Akari, Chise and Cho all lunged toward the forehead they had been repeatedly damaging throughout the fight and struck it hard while Asami once again formed her beak and rammed it hard into the spot. This seemed to be enough as the scorpion collapsed, its body turning into data and flying away from the area.

With that, the girls breathed a sigh of relief, save for Asami who simply stared at this and breathed heavily. She could not believe it. She had actually helped defeat a Digimon. Sure, she had ended up with a primitive look, but she had super powers now.

Akari placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a sweet smile while, the others gave her thumbs up. Sure, they had done most of the work, but in the end, they would have failed without her helping them out with the final blow.

With all said and done, the girls were headed home. Hazuki was still curious as to why she had become a different form, but she decided not to let it eat away at her. After all, it would help if the couple from the other night remembered what she had looked like in her other form.

However, after Cho, Chise and Hazuki had stopped at their own houses, Asami continued to walk with Akari. Sure, she could have gotten a ride home, but right now the rich girl wanted a private conversation with the one person who had any faith in her up to this point.

Akari noticed the girl had a look of shame on her face as she asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"Do you want to know why I wanted so desperately to be a hero?" Asami asked, "I mean, I'm privileged. I have everything I could ever want. So why would someone like me want to fight evil?"

"Why?" Akari asked with much interest as Asami took a deep breath and replied, "Well, to be honest, I'm not as happy as you might think. While I have so many things handed to me and the intelligence to be in a school for only the smartest of individuals, the truth is, there are so many things I can't do for myself."

Akari was now even more interested as the silver-haired girl added, "It suddenly hit me how little I really knew about the world when my mother told me I was destined to run the family business. You know what that is, right?"

"Oh yeah, banking," Akari replied as Asami nodded and continued, "The truth is, I've never really been interested in that line of work. It seems like such a dreadful bore, and yet mother was convinced that it was the only thing I could possibly do and make a living off of. It seemed like I would never make a real difference in the world, so I made a vow to prove my mother wrong."

The silver-haired girl smiled and held up her diamond while adding, "When this appeared next to my bed, I knew it had to be a sign that I really could make a difference. If I could be a hero and save lives, I would be important and people would come to me for help."

The then let out a sigh and stated, "But in the end, I was mostly in it for myself. I thought it would be so easy, but it wasn't. And when I saw all of you taking in so much punishment, and when I noticed you would not give up for even a second, it made me realize just how serious hero work can be."

Akari gave a warm smile and patted Asami on the shoulder before saying, "Well, it's great to have you on the team and as a friend. Maybe you can come over and meet my parents sometime."

Asami froze for a few seconds. The thought of her being in the house of a lower-class citizen was unheard of, and yet it sounded like a nice change of pace. With that in mind, the girl nodded and replied, "I would like that very much."

But while all seemed to be going well, the girls failed to notice someone spying on them with a pair of binoculars. In fact, this someone was a blue and green dinosaur wearing an army uniform. After a few more seconds, he gritted his teeth and pulled out what looked like a computer mouse. With that, he quickly pressed the clicker as a vortex opened up before him, the dinosaur entering without anyone seeing him.

The dinosaur was then transported through a series of circuits and wires before appearing in what looked like a run-down old city. Everything was grey with the buildings totalled, all except for one. A palace stood tall at the farthest end of the city and even looked brand new.

The dinosaur headed there as many other Digimon noticed him and gave him an army salute. There were humanoid tanks, robotic dragons, giant insects and more. All of them looked menacing and powerful but at the same time, their faces seemed to lack emotion almost as if they did not want to be here right now.

The dinosaur soon came to the palace and entered it. He walked along many halls and many different floors before reaching the top and knocking on a door.

"Suddenly, a yellow eye appeared inside the keyhole as the owner said, "Oh, it's you. Come on in," the eye moving away from the door as the dinosaur opened it and gave an army salute while exclaiming, "Commandramon, reporting for duty, sir!"

The Digimon inhabiting the room, an office to be exact, was a metallic-looking spider with six legs that looked like they were made of wires. His body was mostly silver with red on his back, the edges of his rear end and a horn attached to his skull. Rather than having normal feet, he instead had what looked like spiked dog dishes, the spikes resembling claws. He also had three spikes along his back and belly along with a big one that resembled a stinger attached to His rear end.

"So, what news do you bring to me?" the spider asked as Commandramon replied, "Well, I believe we might might need to start sending more forces into Tokyo, sir."

The spider glared at the dinosaur before crawling over to him and asking, "Do you, now?" Commandramon gulping and nodding with a nervous grin.

The spider frowned and lifted up one of his legs before ramming it into Commandramon's neck. He then proceeded to wrap his claws around the dinosaur's neck and exclaimed, "You are merely a servant, not the leader! I make the decisions around here!"

The spider released his hold on the dinosaur and sighed, "Look, I may have infected almost every Digimon, but that doesn't mean I can just afford to send a ton into a single city. After all, every city and town in the world has one of Ophanimon's heroes protecting it! Do you honestly think I'll be able to enslave the entire world if I waste all my troops on one place!?"

"But that's the thing sir," Commandramon replied while trembling, "There's more than one of them."

That's not too bad," the spider replied, "They'll run out of steam eventually."

"Um, actually..." Commandramon replied with a nervous look, "There's five of them, sir."

The spider froze for a few seconds before asking, "Five?" the dinosaur nodding and adding, "Also, I've seen one of them Digivolve to champion level. Two of them don't even need that as they have champion levels as their defaults for some reason."

The spider started to twitch all over as he took a deep breath and said, "Alright, you've definitely made a valid point. I still don't want to waste too many on them, but who should I send? I don't wanna waste my top generals on a group of humans. I need them in case Ophanimon sends her soldiers here again."

Commandramon blinked as the spider let out a sigh and said, "Yes, you can give your input."

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could send in the tanks, sir," the dinosaur replied as the spider thought about this, saying, "Oh, yes, Tankmon and Tankdramon," the spider then staring at Commandramon and adding, "Look, I know you're the one in charge of training those two, but do you honestly feel they're ready? No offence, but it takes a lot for me to put faith in the Digimon I haven't infected."

"Oh, believe you me, they are, sir!" the dinosaur replied, "Tankmon fights so well, you'd swear he was an ultimate and, well, Tankdramon actually is an ultimate level. I think they're more than qualified for the job."

"Well, tanks are very destructive," the spider replied with a shrug, "Alright, I'm counting on those two."

Commandramon nodded and gave another army salute before exiting the room. However, the spider still seemed unconvinced as he snapped two of his claws together. With that, a mechanical chrysalis with blades on the ends of its multiple arms appeared behind him as he said, "I want you to gather as much information on these new heroes as you can. I can overlook one strong hero, but to think Ophanimon would resort to assigning five to a single area. This cannot be taken lightly."


	12. Chapter 12

On Sunday morning, Akari, Cho, Chise and Hazuki were rather surprised when Asami called them to invite them over to her mansion. She figured this would be a nice way to celebrate the team now having five members and wanted a good way to get to know her new friends better. Of course, her parents also wanted to meet them to decide whether or not they would approve of their daughter spending time with middle-class citizens.

Of course, there was a major catch to this. All four girls had to dress fancy otherwise there was no way her family would allow them into her home. But of course, each one did have something nice to wear.

Akari decided to wear a nice red dress that matched her hair along with a pair of pink gloves. Meanwhile, Cho was dressed in a somewhat tight black dress and also wore a ring that her father used to wear in his twenties, when he apparently used to be a pro wrestler. Chise wore a beautiful white dress that her mother recommended to her and a necklace with the yin yang symbol in the middle. And finally, Hazuki wore a rather nice black dress and long black gloves.

Each girl's parents agreed to take her to the mansion, each having their own thoughts on this whole thing. After all, having their daughters going to a rich person's home to hang out was a pretty big deal.

"Now, honey, have fun," Kenta said while Yumi drove, "And remember, don't ask your friend to lend you money. Last think you wanna do is take advantage of the rich."

Akari giggled as Yumi sighed, "You know Akari would never do that," Kenta replying, "I'm just making sure."

Sakura, on the other hand, looked nervous while Kenichi excitedly drove Cho toward the mansion. While the father was thrilled to have his daughter go to a rich person's house, Sakura was worried Cho might have trouble following the house rules. After all, it was not like her to act super-polite and dignified.

Nevertheless, Cho assured Sakura that she would be okay as the mother nodded and sighed, "I'm sorry to bug you like this, but it's my job to worry."

Chise on the other hand was ten times more nervous than her mother who was so thrilled to have her once anti-social daughter getting herself yet another friend. She knew Chise would not do anything wrong, so she felt she had nothing to worry about.

Hazuki's parents were simply driving the goth while her mother said, "Now, if they offer you food, decline, but be polite about it," her father adding, "And don't drink anyone's blood."

"Don't worry, I won't," Hazuki replied with a grin as her mother looked back and stated, "It's nice seeing you so positive these days."

With that, all four girls were soon in front of the mansion as their parents waved them goodbye. Like their parents, none of them ever believed they would even be in the home of someone with wealth. As much as they tried to reassure their parents that things would be alright, they were still nervous, especially Cho who deep down was just as worried as her mother about messing up.

Even so, the girls all turned to one-another and nodded before walking toward the door. With the others being too nervous, Akari took hold of a large gold door knocker and tapped it against the door twice.

At that moment, the door was opened up by Muso who bowed his head and said, "Welcome to our estate. Asami has been expecting you."

The man proceeded to pull out a magnifying glass as he took hold of Cho's hand and examined it, the girl sighing, "Don't tell me you don't trust me either."

"Muso, you needn't be so uptight about these things," came Asami's voice as the others noticed their silver-haired friend walking downstairs in her own fancy outfit.

"If you say so, my lady," the butler said as Asami smiled bright and said, "Run along, Muso. Your services won't be necessary for a while."

As the butler bowed his head and exited the area, Asami smiled bright and exclaimed, "Wow, you all look positively gorgeous!" Hazuki asking, "Really? Even me?"

"Oh yes," the rich girl replied with a grin, "I didn't know the goth look could be so stunning, but you make it so well!"

Hazuki did not even know how to react to this as Asami added, "And Chise, you look absolutely adorable," the blond blushing bright while biting her lower lip.

"I'm probably not that great," Cho sighed, "It's not like me to dress all fancy and this was all we had," as Asami took a deep breath and replied, "Look, I know I probably came off as overly-critical when we first met, but you girls have taught me to be more accepting of other people's fashion choices."

Cho simply blinked as Asami added, "And if you're still wondering, I think you look very nice."

At that moment, a young woman with long blond hair entered alongside a slender man with neatly-groomed silver hair and a moustache to match. The woman was named Anna and the man was named Akihiko. The two stood before Asami's new friends and bowed their heads.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Anna said with a gentle smile, "When I found out our daughter had middle-class friends, I simply had to meet them."

"Yes, she thinks rather highly of you," Akihiko added before rubbing his chin and looking them over carefully, the girls staring awkwardly as he nodded and replied, "Well, you certainly have good fashion sense."

Asami face-palmed and shook her head. To think she used to be even more uptight about that sort of thing.

Once introductions were out of the way, Asami gave her new friends a tour of the mansion. The girls marvelled at all the hallways alone and were even more amazed by the rooms. There was a ballroom, a private indoor pool and hot tub and there was even a room with a TV the size of a theatre movie screen.

Of course, there were a few nice things out back as well, such as a tennis court and an outdoor pool. However, what made Cho fall in love with the building was that it had a training area for the bodyguards, which had a martial arts ring to go along with all the weights and exercise machines.

Akari noticed Cho trying to resist the temptation to challenge one of the guards to a wrestling match as she placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. After all, Cho was wearing a dress and if she fought, it would likely get dirty and torn.

Soon enough, the girls were all in Asami's room, which was just as fancy as the other girls had imagined. When Asami offered to let her friends sit on her bed along with her, Chise trembled a bit when Cho took a deep breath and reassured her it was okay.

Once seated, Chise smiled lightly and said, "It's so soft," the blond then allowing herself to fall backwards as she rested her head against the surface.

Asami chuckled at the sight of this as Cho said, "You know, Asami, you're alright. You seemed like a bit of control freak at first, but-" only for Akari to nudge her and remark, "Don't be rude."

"No, she's right," Asami replied, "I did come off a bit pushy when we first met. But, well, you guys helped me out a lot, so thank you."

With that, the girl held onto her diamond, Cho saying, "It's funny, Akari and I have been best friends for years, but we probably would have never gotten to know you guys if it wasn't for these diamonds. Though I sometimes wonder why we were chosen for this job."

"Yeah, none of us really seemed fit for this at first, did we?" Akari asked, "I'm a pacifist. The only reason I fight is because I know the Digimon we kill come back to life."

"Is that true?" Asami asked as the other four nodded, Akari then smiling bright and adding, "But still, I have surprised myself with how far I'll go to protect the innocent. Now I can fight the Digimon without holding back."

"Yeah, and at first, I only wanted to fight the Digimon so I could be famous," Cho replied, "I didn't deserve super powers, but wouldn't you know it? I eventually realized just how important this job was."

"I used to be afraid of everything," Chise uttered, "I still get scared of a lot of things, but I can actually bring myself to fight since I'm not alone."

"My only desire was to slaughter the entire human race," Hazuki replied with a sigh before turning to Akari and adding, "Sorry for biting you. I don't think I've said that yet."

Akari gave her a friendly smile and replied, "I'll gladly give my blood to a friend," Asami blinking as Cho sighed, "There's a lot we haven't told you yet, isn't there?"

Asami nodded as Hazuki grinned and added, "Well, for starters, these fangs are real," the rich girl just about ready to scream when she quickly placed her hands over her mouth so as not to alarm her parents and servants.

"The important thing is that as long as we're together, Tokyo will always be safe," Cho replied with a grin before sighing, "I just wish we could always have time to loaf around and have fun like this."

"Well, we'll just have to make the best of our time together now before we go out on patrol," Asami replied with a grin, "It's noon. I think that's a wonderful time for lunch, don't you?"

Needless to say, the four girls were astounded to see a wide assortment of fancy sandwiches, a nice gourmet salad and even a lobster. Cho started to drool as Asami's parents stared wide-eyed only for Akari to quickly point it out, Cho dabbing her mouth dry with her napkin.

"And this is only lunch," Hazuki uttered before thinking, 'Damn, I wish I was still a human. This all looks so good.'

With that, everyone was served by the staff members as Akari smiled softly, saying, "Thank you, sir," the butler who had served her bowing his head.

Chise bit her lower lip and uttered, "Th-th-thank you," while Cho was about to dig in only for Akari to once again point out her behaviour.

Hazuki, on the other hand, politely refused the food as Anna asked, "Excuse me, Hazuki, but do you not like what we're serving?"

"Oh no, it's not that," Hazuki replied, "It's just that I'm on a diet. I only have two meals a day."

"Skinny and still on a diet," the mother replied, "I'm impressed," as Akihiko added, "Yes, quite commendable. Perhaps we can have you over for dinner sometime. Then you'll have an excuse to consume our wonderful meals."

Asami laughed nervously as Hazuki replied, "I wouldn't want to intrude," the goth realizing she had more-or-less walked into that one.

The next three hours passed without a hitch as the girls did a variety of things together, such as watching a movie and going for a swim in the pool. Needless to say, they were having a great time. Not only was it nice being in a rich home, but all five friends spending time together made it even more worthwhile.

It was a half-hour before the girls were planning on leaving as Akihiko approached Asami and asked, "Excuse me, Asami, may I have a quick word with you?"

The silver-haired girl nodded and got up saying, "Yes, father," before turning to the others and saying, "Wait here."

The other four nodded and watched her head off to a private area where Anna was waiting for them. A part of them were expecting something bad to happen.

"Well, Asami, I must say you have met a nice group of friends," Akihiko said with a smile, Anna nodding and saying, "I must say, they are quite a nice bunch."

"So you really approve of me spending time with them?" Asami asked as both parents nodded, Akihiko saying, "Well, that Cho girl does have me worried, but Akari seems to do a good job keeping her in check."

"That's true," Asami replied with a light chuckle as she wished she could tell her parents exactly what she had done with them the previous day and what she would be doing with them everyday. But she knew they would not approve of such a thing.

However, the peace was broken up when Cho's nose started to twitch, the blue-haired girl uttering, "Oh no," Hazuki asking, "There's a Digimon attack going on right now?"

Cho nodded and replied, "Yes, but the scent is stronger than usual. It's coming from downtown. I think we should hurry."

And of course the reason for the stronger smell was that there were two Digimon this time. One, namely Tankmon, was an orange dinosaur covered in war paint. Most of his body was that of a tank with the barrel part making up his skull His hands were big green machine guns and the driver's hatch seemed to have a face of its own with a metal jaw and red metallic eyes.

The other, Tankdramon, was a blue dinosaur that resembled an android tank, though this one looked even more deadly with a gold mask covering its face. Its head was covered in silver metal as two large guns along with a pair of machines guns stuck out of big metal tank-like structure that made up his lower body. His hands were covered in metal with spikes coming out of three holes and right below his body was a bullet belt with more spikes coming out of it.

Commandramon watched them open fire on Tokyo as his eyes widened, the dinosaur quickly pulling out a spray bottle and saying, "Right, gotta hide my scent."

With that, the dinosaur sprayed himself with some kind of substance. This was how he had managed to avoid Cho's detection before. It was not that he necessarily knew of her sense of smell, but rather that he always brought it with him for stealth reasons.

Juri stood before the scene and exclaimed, "We are now live in downtown Tokyo where a pair of living tanks has appeared and is wrecking havoc! Hopefully, our city's heroes will appear soon, but until then, the military has been called in to at least distract them before that happens."

"This is awesome!" Tankmon exclaimed before sending a missile into a business tower, "I've been waiting to do something like this!"

"Don't get too excited yet," Tankdramon remarked, "If what the commander says is true, we'll be getting some moving targets to practice on, ones that'll fight back."

Tankmon rather liked the sound of that as he grinned wide and exclaimed, "I love it when they try to resist! Makes the killing so much more satisfying!"

However, both looked up when they noticed helicopters flying into the area. The civilians now felt a bit of relief when they saw this, but Tankmon and Tankdramon saw the flying machines as nothing more than moving targets.

With that, Tankmon pointed his machine gun hands toward one of the choppers and opened fire, striking it down with ease. Before the other soldiers could even respond, many of them started suffering the same fate.

Tankdramon added to this by opening fire and releasing his own stream of bullets. It was not long until all the army's choppers were taken down and the soldiers had to retreat.

"With the military helpless, it would seem we need our heroes more than ever!" Juri exclaimed before taking a deep breath and adding, "Where were the tanks? Seriously? They only had choppers?"

Needless to say, the girls were ready to take off as Anna asked, "Is something wrong?" Cho replying, "Yeah, our parents want us home a little bit sooner."

Asami was a bit confused until Cho gave her a serious look and a nod, the girl nodding and adding, "Well, I simply will not allow you to go barefoot."

With that, the girl whistled as Muso entered the room, the rich girl saying, "Muso, ready the chopper," as the butler bowed his head and replied, "If that is your wish, my lady."

Anna gave a warm smile as Akihiko grinned and said, "Good thinking, Asami. Do you want us to come with you to make sure they're escorted safely?"

"Oh no, Father," Asami replied, "You need to be here in case someone important comes to the door," the man nodding his head and replying, "Yes, a fair point."

Clearly, Asami's family had not seen the news and since their mansion was far from the downtown district, they could not hear the mayhem and commotion going on. Still, with so much destruction, the girls would need to be fast and while they would have preferred to keep a low profile, this seemed like the more practical solution.

After blowing up a nearby car, Tankmon let out a sigh and said, "You know, after that string of helicopters, I'm getting bored," Tankdramon looked around and grunting, "Yeah, where are those heroes we were supposed to fight?"

However, their conversation came to a close when they noticed another chopper flying into the area, only this one was much fancier. Unfortunately, Tankmon was so desperate for a moving target as he instinctively pointed his gun barrel toward the flying machine with a smirk.

All the while, the girls had taken on their hero forms as Asami turned to Muso, who had been piloting it and said, "My last order for you today is not to tell my parents about this. You know how wrought with worry they will be if they find out."

For the first time in his adult life, Muso hesitated before replying, "As you command, my lady."

Asami could see a look of concern on his face as she smiled and said, "Worry not. We were given these powers to fight these monsters. We can handle this," Akari nodding and replying, "Your daughter's stronger than you might think."

With that, the group leapt out of the helicopter mere seconds before Tankmon could open fire, Tankdramon tapping the dinosaur on the shoulder and saying, "Wait, our real targets are here!"

"Sweet!" Tankmon exclaimed before turning away from the chopper. This was certainly good timing as if the girls had taken a second longer, they and the flying machine would have been blown up.

"Well, it would seem our heroes have finally arrived," Juri said with a look of relief before quickly reverted to her calm and neutral look, the woman adding, "Though what they are doing in the Oshiro private helicopter."

"Oh, I can answer that," Muso said after just suddenly appearing next to them, Juri asking, "And you are?"

"Muso, servant to the Oshiro estate," the man replied, "See, Master Akihiko wanted to personally meet the heroes, so he invited them over for a quick visit." The butler hoped that Akihiko and Anna were not watching the broadcast as he knew what they would do if they found out he had lied, not to mention they would also get rather suspicious about this very subject themselves.

With that, Asami and Hazuki were the first to act as they could fly. With that, each soared forward only for their eyes to widen at the sight of two opponents. With that, Asami stopped in her tracks while Hazuki just barely managed to avoid being hit by one of Tankmon's missiles.

"What the Hell, Asami?" Hazuki asked as the hawk girl took a deep breath and replied, "Sorry, it's just... there are two of them and they are really big and strong-looking."

The others were also rather surprised to see two Digimon at once as Tankmon stared at them and asked, "Wait, are these our new moving targets?"

"I thought they'd be bigger," Tankdramon added, "But they're puny. This should be easy."

Cho gritted her teeth and fumed as Akari said, "Wow, I've never heard a Digimon talk before," Cho barking, "Clearly those voices are wasted on these two!"

"Does my voice sound unfitting?" Tankmon asked as Tankdramon replied, "No, she's insinuating that we're too stupid to be able to talk! We should teach her a lesson!"

Commandramon face-palmed as he really hoped their blind rage would not hinder their performance. But during all of this, the spider's personal metal chrysalis was floating nearby and staying hidden while focusing its gaze upon the battlefield.

With that, both dinosaur tanks opened fire with their machine guns while the girls all did their best to avoid being hit. Chise was especially terrified as she immediately tucked herself into her shell. And thankfully, this did seem to provide decent protection.

Not only that, but it seemed to have even more of an effect as Tankmon rose an eyebrow, the dinosaur growling and shouting, "HEY, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE MY BULLETS!" as he proceeded to unleash even more, only now he was aiming specifically for her.

Before Tankdramon could scold his partner for being distracted, though, Cho and Akari rushed toward Tankmon from the side and struck the side of his head hard, Cho barking, "GAO RUSH!" while Akari spat, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

Tankdramon was unable to do a thing about this as Hazuki exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" while a black energy shot from her hands and into the blue dinosaur. Asami added to the pain by hurling her feather hard into Tankdramon's cheek while exclaiming, "FEATHER STRIKE!"

Both dinosaurs felt rather embarrassed after letting themselves get hit so easily, but even so, they did not seem too fazed by this. Sure, Cho and Akari's combined efforts dealt some pain to Tankmon, but not nearly enough to make him flinch. Thus they soon found themselves on the receiving end of a counterattack when the orange dinosaur swung his machine gun at them and knocked them away from him.

Tankdramon took in even less pain as while Hazuki's attack had done a lot, Asami's attack just barely showed signs of harming him. As such, he simply pointed one of his machine guns at them and opened fire, the two barely dodging in time to avoid taking in pain from this.

"Good," Commandramon said with a grin, "A true soldier never lets a single hit bring him down."

However, Chise could not bare to watch this as she rolled toward Tankmon and exclaimed, "DIAMOND SHELL!"

However, the dinosaur saw this coming as he unleashed a missile straight into the shell. This did nothing more than knock Chise away from him, but he was relieved to see her take in some pain from this, especially when her shell ended up ramming into the side of a building thus forcing her to retract while she cried out in pain.

Akari and Cho were trembling all over as Cho gritted her teeth, saying, "These two are starting to really irritate me," Hazuki nodding as she suggested, "We need to get stronger."

And with that, Cho closed her eyes and thought, 'Please, Gaomon, give me the power to protect everyone,' her body glowing as she quickly changed into her second form. Akari, on the other hand, was nervous after this failed her last time, but she closed her eyes anyway and wished for the same thing.

Unfortunately, just like before, it failed, but why? Why could Cho still transform whenever she felt was necessary when Akari could not. Gatomon had promised her it would work. As if that was not enough, Hazuki did not seem able to change into her original vampire form either.

Whatever the case, even with an upgraded Cho, this might not be such an easy fight. After all, they were dealing with not one but two very strong opponents.


	13. Chapter 13

Things were not looking good. Sure, the battle with the scorpion may have been tough, but this was already proving itself to be far more dangerous. Not only were both Digimon really powerful, but their main attacks could likely kill the girls in one hit if they were not careful.

"I'll admit, they are at least able to fight back," Tankdramon said, "but I'm still a little disappointed."

"Yeah, I figured the ones who defeated Scorpiomon would have been more dangerous," Tankmon replied before smirking and adding, "Or maybe we're just ten times stronger than Scorpiomon!"

"Yeah, that Scorpiomon was a loser!" Tankdramon exclaimed with a laugh while Commandramon sighed, "I've told them time and time again not to get cocky."

"Scorpiomon?" Chise asked as Cho shrugged and replied, "Must have been the name of that scorpion we fought yesterday."

However, Cho did not care as she knew she only had a little while to keep her new form up. With that in mind, she took full advantage of the fact that the dinosaurs were laughing and exclaimed, "DASH DOUBLE CLAW!"

With that, she threw her arms downward in an X formation as blades of energy formed in front of her. The blades flew forward and hit both dinosaurs, covering them in cuts and drawing blood.

However, neither seemed to react to this as Tankdramon sighed, "Alright, that's enough laughter, Tankmon," the orange dinosaur nodding and adding, "You're right, Tankdramon. We got us a job to do."

However, the girls simply stared as Cho uttered, "All of their names end with 'mon'," Akari's eyes sparkling as she squealed, "That's actually kinda cute!" as Hazuki sighed, "Makes them seem less threatening, really."

"HEY, SHUT UP!" the dinosaurs retorted before opening fire again.

The girls simply avoided the incoming shots as Hazuki sent out another burst of black energy while shouting, "DEATH HAND!" thus blocking an incoming missile from Tankmon's gun barrel.

Meanwhile, Akari and Cho both got close enough to strike Tankdramon while Akari exclaimed, "LIGHTNING PAW!" Asami and Chise trying their own attacks.

However, like before, neither of the dinosaurs seemed to feel any pain from this as crossed their arms and threw them outward. This led to them ramming their gun hands into their opponents and sending them flying, Cho reverting back to her weaker form.

"Nice try, ladies," Tankdramon said with a smirk, "but now matter what you do, you'll never be able to hurt us. Not only are our bodies enforced in hard steel, but we've been trained to handle any sort of pain! You weak girly girls are wasting your time!"

"What did you call us!?" Cho retorted as Akari placed a hand on her shoulder and sighed, "Blind rage won't help us."

"True, but we must try something," Asami replied, "I hate to admit it, but they are correct. As we are now, we might not be strong enough."

"Yes we are," Hazuki stated as the others turned to her, the goth adding, "They may not feel pain but that doesn't mean our attacks aren't doing anything. Not feeling pain is more a hindrance than a gift as they don't realize that they've taken in damage."

The others stared at the dinosaurs for a few seconds before realizing what she meant. They may not have reacted to the hits dealt to them, but there were still signs of damage having been dealt to them. Thanks to Cho's Dash Double Claw, both were covered in small cuts. And the other attacks used earlier must have added to the damage.

With that in mind, Cho smirked and said, "Yeah, we might just be able to deal with this after all. We can't give up, no matter how much the odds are stacked against us."

With that, the girls readied themselves for more, trying their best to overcome the pain dealt earlier. Sure, they had not yet taken in one of their more deadly attacks, or in Chise's case, the full blunt of one, but those hits from their machine gun hands did prove to be very painful.

However, Tankmon did not seem patient as he sighed, "You know, these girls are starting to bore me," Tankdramon nodding and saying, "Yeah, let's just blow them up."

With that, Tankmon was ready to fire a missile when Cho got an idea. Seeing as her more powerful form had left her, this was clearly the better option as she turned to Chise and nodded.

The blond blinked before getting the message and tucking herself into her shell. Knowing what would happen next, though, she closed her eyes tight as Cho proceeded to pick her up and reel her leg back. She then sent it forward and kicked the armadillo girl toward Tankmon like a soccer ball as Chise was soon lodged into the dinosaur's barrel.

His eyes went wide as the gun started to inflate, soon blowing up as Chise was sent flying. But before she could fly into something, Cho quickly leapt up and grabbed her, landing firmly against a ground and saying, "Sorry about that."

"Oh, I'm just glad to be of help," Chise replied as Cho set her down, the blond retracting from her shell.

Tankdramon stared at his partner wide-eyed as the orange dinosaur turned to him and asked in a tone that made it sound like his nose was being plugged, "What? Is there something on my face?"

The others wasted no time taking full advantage of this as they all sent their strongest attacks into Tankmon's midsection. With all four hitting him at once, he was unable to ignore the pain as his eyes and mouth were wide open, the dinosaur coughing up blood.

"Tankmon, are you okay!?" Tankdramon exclaimed with concern as Tankmon nodded and replied with the same tone used earlier, "Yeah, I'm fine. We were trained to deal with this soft of thing. And besides, I can still fight without my nose."

While Tankdramon was taking this serious, Cho and Asami were resisting the urge to laugh while Hazuki sighed, "Now's not the time."

With that, Tankmon let out a loud battle cry and proceeded to open fire with his machine guns, letting loose a series of bullets. Like before, the girls were able to dodge, but just barely. Despite all their progress, they were afraid. If any of these bullets hit so much as one vital spot on each of them, they would be dead for sure.

Asami got an idea as she once again picked up her feather and took a deep breath. With that, she aimed it carefully toward one of the cuts Cho had left on Tankmon earlier, specifically one located on the left side of his chest. Luckily, Tankmon seemed too excited by all of his shooting to notice as she hurled the feather toward the spot and shouted, "FEATHER STRIKE!"

With that, the feather lodged itself deep into the cut as more blood squirted out. Tankmon's eyes and mouth once again widened only this time his eyes rolled to back to his head as he lower his arms. Tankdramon stopped firing and stared at his comrade while his body turned into data and flew away from the area.

The nearby citizens cheered wildly while Tankdramon's eyes widened, the blue dinosaur staring at the girls. He could not believe what he had just seen. After he had sustained all of that damage, all it took was a single feather to take him down.

Even the other four girls were impressed as Cho asked, "How did you do that?" Asami shrugging and replying in a rather nonchalant tone, "I just aimed for his heart. No biggie."

Cho was even more confused by the idea that computer programs could have hearts, though she figured it hardly mattered. After all, the fact that they were in the human world was already strange enough. The less she thought about this the better.

Commandramon gulped and uttered, "Oh no, this isn't good," before noticing that Tankdramon was infuriated now. The dinosaur's entire body was twitching while he held his arms down by his sides as if he had clenched fists, his teeth grinding together.

"You monsters!" Tankdramon exclaimed, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!"

The girls panicked when the dinosaur once again opened fire. However, when he ended up missing as usual, he took a deep breath and sighed, "I was advised not to use this, but you've given me no choice. Sorry, commander, but I'm gonna have to disobey orders."

"Oh no," Commandramon uttered as Tankdramon exclaimed, "IT'S TIME FOR THE STRIVER CANNON!"

With that, the guns by his shoulders started to charge up as the girls stared with their eyes wide open. They had no idea what a striver cannon was, but it certainly did not sound good. They knew they would have to end this soon.

With that in mind, Akari took a deep breath and closed her eyes thinking, 'Please, Gatomon. I need to become stronger. Please lend me the strength to protect everyone!'

With that, Akari's body started to glow as the people stared in shock, Asami asking, "She's going to upgrade too?" the rich girl starting to imagine the cat girl growing even more fur and longer claws.

How, she was absolutely shocked when Akari instead took on the form of a beautiful angel with eight wings and a silver battle mask. Hazuki remembered how the redhead had beaten her easily with this form while the others were reminded of how she had healed them last time.

"Oh my god, she's so beautiful," Asami uttered, her eyes sparkling, "Even more so than usual."

Akari took a deep breath and wasted no time forming a ring above her head and exclaiming, "Holy Air!"

Energy rained down upon the area as all of the damage Akari and her friends had taken in earlier had vanished. To make things even better, the light had paralysed Tankdramon as his cannons were temporarily unable to fire. With that in mind, Akari proceeded to whip out her bow and form an arrow made of pure light, aiming it toward the blue dragon's heart.

"I'm sorry for doing this, but I have no choice," the girl said, "At least you and your partner will be revived as beings of good and will no longer have to serve whoever is controlling you."

With that, she let loose the arrow while shouting, "CELESTIAL ARROW!" but mere seconds before it could hit, Tankdramon gritted his teeth and grunted, "I'm not being controlled!"

The arrow then drove itself into his heart as he tried his best to ignore the pain while uttering, "I... chose... this... path..."

With that, Tankdramon's arms lowered as he turned into data and flew into the air. Commandramon's eyes were wide open as he trembled and quickly whipped out his computer mouse. With it, he opened up a portal and left the area before anyone could see him, not noticing the metal chrysalis following close behind.

However, while the people in the area cheered even louder than before, especially Akari's friends who were more than thrilled to finally have this threat dealt with, Akari did not feel so relieved. Tankdramon's last words had her confused. He was not being controlled and yet he and Tankmon had still tried to kill people, but why?

Even so, it seemed Tokyo would be safe another day, though there was a lot more damage that needed to be fixed as Juri said, "Well, it wasn't looking good for us, but ultimately, these brave girls have managed to save us yet again. Though I was not expecting the cat to become an angel. Who would have ever guessed?"

With all said and done, the girls were headed home as Asami sighed, "It must be a nightmare trying to avoid detection every time," Cho replying, "Yeah. We're just lucky the only one's who have seen us transform are allies."

However, Akari was looking down as Hazuki asked, "Is something wrong, Akari?"

"Yes," the redhead replied, "Before he died, that blue one said he chose to attack us. But I thought all the Digimon were being controlled."

"Well, that's part of life," Cho replied with a shrug, "Maybe they're like people. Some are good but others are bad. According to Fukuko, the Digimon were created for a game. Maybe some of them were programmed to be evil."

"You think so?" Akari asked as the others nodded, Asami replying, "That certainly makes the most logical sense. I have to hand it to you, Cho, that is a very smart observation."

Cho briefly glanced at the silver-haired girl and replied, "I'm gonna take that as a compliment."

Akari was not sure whether to feel better after hearing this or not. If they were programmed to be evil, then they would likely be reborn evil. Even so, they had threatened the lives of others, so it was not as if Akari had done a bad thing by killing them.

With that in mind, the girl smiled wide and said, "Thanks for the encouragement, guys."

With that, the girls had a more positive attitude on the rest of the way home. However, Asami was cut off when her cellphone started to ring, the girl quickly pulling it out and asking, "Yes?"

"Oh, thank god you're okay!" Akihiko exclaimed, "We just saw the news report about two of those monsters appearing downtown!"

"Oh, really?" Asami replied, "Well, thankfully we weren't in that general area."

"Well, thank goodness," Akihiko replied, "I was so worried seeing as Muso came home without you."

"Oh, right," Asami replied with a chuckle, "After having my friends over, they insisted I spend some time with them at Akari's house. I simply could not refuse and for a middle-class home, it's rather nice."

"Will you be heading home soon?" Akihiko replied as Asami said, "Yes. I shall be home within the hour. Don't you worry about a thing."

Once the call was over, Akari smiled and said, "Maybe you can all come over for real sometime," the others thinking this over before nodding, Cho sighing, "Shame this had to be a school night. We could have had a sleepover."

And with all said and done, the girls returned to their respective homes and things seemed fine. Unfortunately, there was still the matter of Commandramon and the metal chrysalis. They had witnessed everything and soon their leader would know the details.

Just like before Commandramon had appeared at the entrance to a run-down city. And like before, he was met with various army salutes. However, there was one who did not salute him, and that was a demon with a grey face and a violet bird-like mask over his eyes. He had spiked hair and wore a leather jacket along with matching pants. He wore a pair of combat shoes with spikes coming up from the tips and metal ankle pads. A long tail was attached to his rear end and he wore a pair of leather gloves. To top it off, he had two pistols strapped to his sides.

Currently, the demon was resting against a stone with his hands behind his head as Commandramon blinked and exclaimed, "Hey, Beelzemon, you're supposed to bow to your superiors!"

The demon glared at him and remarked, "Since when are YOU my superior!?"

Commandramon was about to retort when the demon said, "Hey, just because our leader decided to make you the commander of your own army, it doesn't mean you have the right to boss everyone around. I only serve the true leader, and you're not the true leader."

The dinosaur took a deep breath and sighed, "Whatever, I don't have time to waste with this," though a part of him was actually scared of Beelzemon. After all, that demon was the only follower of their leader who could possibly surpass him in terms of power. To get on Beelzemon's nerves was a death wish.

With that, Commandramon simply headed along his way to the palace where his leader rested. As he reached the spider's chambers, he entered only for the metal chrysalis to be there projecting the battle between the girls and the tanks from its eyes.

"Well, they certainly seem resourceful," the spider said while nodding his head, "Even before that one girl Digivolved, they were able to find a way to kill Tankmon."

Commandramon's eyes widened as he asked, "Pardon my asking, sir, but what is that?"

The spider simply shot him a glare as he gulped and uttered, "Right, I should know better than to question you."

The spider nodded and turned back to the footage, sighing, "It's easy to see how they were able to finish Tankdramon. I don't need to see anymore."

With that, the chrysalis' eyes stopped glowing as it retreated from the area, Commandramon still confused as the spider added, "Look, it's not that I didn't trust you to return with a report, but I had to see for myself what these heroes are capable of."

"Understood, sir," Commandramon replied, "That's brilliant thinking. I wish I had thought of that."

With that, the spider got up and stretched his front legs out like arms before stating, "It's clear that having these five in Tokyo at once is detrimental to my plans. You know, Commandramon, I think you might be right. I might just have to take the risk."

"What risk was that, sir?" Commandramon asked as the spider replied, "I'm going to send in a mega-level soldier to deal with these five. Even without an ultimate in their ranks, they're still able to come up with a way to deal incredible damage to one of such calibre. Sure, Tankmon and Tankdramon may not have been smart, but they should have been strong enough that even the champions should have dealt minimal damage at best."

"Actually-" Commandramon uttered only for the spider to ignore him and say, "Bring me Beelzemon. I can't think of anyone else for this task."

Commandramon gulped and uttered, "Yes. Right away, sir," before heading out the door and taking a deep breath.

He had not even allowed himself to see Akari's angel form and yet the master was already willing to send in his top fighter. If he had seen far enough, he might have been tempted to send backup, or perhaps two top other top fighters as Beelzemon would never work with another regardless of rank.

Even so, Commandramon had to do as told even if this decision did seem rather rash. Even the general would have at least taken the time to examine every measure possible before choosing who to send into battle.

And so, Commandramon explained the situation to Beelzemon as the demon asked, "So, he finally got desperate, huh?" before letting out a loud laugh as the dinosaur groaned, "It's not that funny."

"Well, the only one who's allowed to give me orders is him, and if these are his words, then that's fine by me," Beelzemon said with a smirk, "Though I don't feel like going right now."

"Wouldn't you rather face them immediately while they're still recovering?" Commandramon asked as the demon shook his head and remarked, "That's no fun. I'd much rather fight them at full strength, and from what I can gather, humans need a little something called sleep to help them out with that. So tell the boss I'll be heading out tomorrow morning."

Commandramon gave him and army salute and replied, "Will do," before walking away and letting out a sigh. Some general he turned out to be, letting one with less status boss him around.

However, he knew one thing, that it was his job to make sure his master succeeded in enslaving mankind. With that in mind, he reached behind him and pulled his rifle out of its holster. He held it in front of his body while looking down at it for a while and nodded with a serious look in his eyes.

"They can threaten and punish me all they want," he grunted, "but one thing's for certain. Not even Beelzemon could take on that angel form by himself. I'm gonna help him whether he likes it or not."


	14. Chapter 14

As luck would have it, the girls had still not been found out. Just as Asami had ordered, Muso did not tell her parents that he had seen her and her friends become the heroes who had been protecting Tokyo. But unbeknownst to them, keeping their secret safe was the least of their worries right now. While they slept in their beds that night, they did not realize that they were resting up for the hardest battle of their lives so far.

But this would have to wait as Akari, Cho, Chise and Hazuki were all headed to school together. Of course Asami did not join them as she went to a different school and was currently already there thanks to her family's chopper.

"Hey, would any of you be interested in having a sleepover on Friday?" Akari asked as Cho shrugged and replied, "Sure. Why do you bring that up?"

"Well, remember yesterday when Asami told her parents we were all at my house when the Digimon were attacking?" the redhead asked.

"Oh yeah, that was a decent cover-up," Hazuki replied as Akari nodded and said, "Well, it got me thinking, why not have everyone over for a sleepover? It would be fun."

Chise's cheeks turned bright pink as she uttered, "You mean w-we'd be s-s-sleeping together?"

Cho stared silently for a few seconds before saying, "Okay, it's definitely happening now. You're getting over all of your social anxiety's by the end of the semester," Chise tensing up as Hazuki sighed, "Geez, you're acting like Akari's inviting a bunch of guys over or something."

The goth then smiled at Akari and said, "Anyway, that sounds like a good idea. I haven't been to a sleepover in ages."

"And I'm guessing you've already discussed it with your parents, right?" Cho asked as Akari nodded and replied, "Of course," a big smile forming.

She then remembered something important as she whipped out her cellphone and called up Asami, the rich girl picking up and saying, "Good morning, Akari. How are you this fine morning?"

Akari chuckled and replied, "I'm doing alright. By the way, we're all coming to my place for a sleepover on Friday. Would you be up to that?"

"Of course I would," Asami replied, "though I'll have to talk it over with my parents first. They might be okay with me spending time in a middle-class household, but I don't know how they would feel about me spending the night."

Akari nodded and replied, "Okay," the two saying their goodbyes before hanging up. And with that, the girls arrived at school.

The day seemed to be going fine. The first few classes went by as usual with no interruptions. But Beelzemon had planned on attacking Tokyo when the girls had enough energy to put up a decent fight, so where was he?

Whatever was going on would have to wait when everyone was seated for lunch. However, just as Akari and her friends were about to eat, they noticed everyone else in the cafeteria staring at the entrance. And when the girls turned, their eyes widened when they saw Asami at the entrance with a rather big bag humped over her shoulder. Sure, the students did not immediately recognize her, but they were surprised to see someone wearing a fancy dress in their school as this was a very uncommon thing, especially since only Akari and her friends knew her.

"Hello, girls, I hope I'm not too late," the silver-haired girl said while walking over as Akari beamed and said, "Hi, Asami. What are you doing here?"

The students were even more shocked at the sound of this as one whispered, "Did she call that girl Asami?" another asking, "As in Asami Oshiro?"

Cho was about ready to glare at the students when Asami chuckled and said, "I see my reputation proceeds me," the students gasping as that comment alone proved their suspicions.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Cho sighed before asking, "Akari makes a good point, though. Why are you here?"

"Well, I wanted to have lunch with you," Asami replied, "Sure, this isn't high-class or anything, but I also don't really have anyone to eat with."

The others stared at her as she added, "Well, I do, but those people are more like acquaintances than actual friends and I would much rather dine with, well, friends."

"Did you hear that?" a student asked, "She called them her friends," the other students now talking amongst themselves.

"That's why you shouldn't have done that," Cho sighed as Asami looked over the lunches the girls had brought.

"Well, aside from Akari, your lunches look a little too light," Asami said before looking at Hazuki's water bottle and asking, "Is that all you're having?"

"You know this is all I can have," Hazuki replied, "Sure, there are some human foods I can eat safely, but they digest in seconds. Waste of resources if you ask me."

"Well, then, I'll just have to share my lunch with the rest of you," Asami replied before pulling out a fancy salad, checker board sandwiches and a piece of chocolate cheesecake in a small box.

Everyone stared in awe as Akari smiled wide, saying, "Thank you, but I don't want to gain too much, so I'll have a little bit," Cho asking, "How do you eat so much and gain nothing?"

"Oh, it's quite simple," Asami replied, "I just eat at a gradual pace. That way, the food has more time to digest before I add more to my stomach."

Chise was tensing up the whole time as she could feel the envious eyes gazing upon her and her friends. Even so, how could she possibly turn down such an offer?

"Wait, how did you get here so quickly?" Cho asked as Akari stated, "She probably took her chopper here."

"Why yes, however did you guess?" Asami asked as Cho uttered, "That was a joke, right?"

However, just as the girls were about to enjoy their food, Cho's nose started to twitch as she whispered, "Guys, there's a Digimon right next to the school."

"We'd better hurry, then," Akari replied only for a bullet to fly through the window and into the wall.

Everyone in the area panicked when a certain leather jacket-wearing demon entered while spinning his pistols and exclaiming, "Alright, nobody move! I am simply here for five special girls and nothing more!"

"Special girls?" Cho whispered as Chise whimpered, "Y-You don't think h-h-he means us, d-do you?"

With that, the five ducked under the table and quickly crawled out of the cafeteria while Beelzemon was too focused on everyone else. He had a big smirk on his face as he pointed his guns in random directions while shouting, "BANG!" each time.

He let out a laugh when those he pointed the guns at trembled in terror, the demon exclaiming, "I love being intimidating!"

The principal slowly approached Beelzemon with his hands up and asked, "Excuse me, sir, but why are you here?"

"I just told you, I'm looking for the heroes who have been killing off my kind," the demon retorted, "I guess in your old age, you've gone deaf."

Some of the students were resisting the urge to laugh as the man remarked, "I'll have you know, I'm forty-" only to have a gun pointed at his nose as Beelzemon retorted, "Go on, give me more backtalk! I dare you!"

'He's good at this,' Commandramon thought while watching from a distance, 'Though I don't understand why he'd specifically pick a high school.'

"I suppose you're all wondering why specifically I've come to this location to draw them out," Beelzemon stated before adding, "You have permission to nod if you were thinking that."

Everyone nodded in response as he was not too far off the mark. The majority had certainly wanted to ask that.

"Well, there are two reasons I've come here," Beelzemon explained, "The first reason is because, well, what makes better bait than a ton of ripe, young hostages? Secondly, from what I can gather, your heroes are sixteen-year-old girls, so it only stands to reason they might just be in a high school. We may not have schools where I come from, but we were created by a human with a computer, so we know a few things about your kind."

"Wait," uttered a young girl from the computer club, "you're a computer program brought to life?"

Beelzemon was about to point his gun at her until her eyes sparkled, the girl squealing, "That is so cool!" Beelzemon blinking and saying, "Yeah, I guess that is pretty cool, isn't it? Why not ditch mankind and join me? You can be the president of my fanclub!"

'He's not being serious, is he?' Commandramon thought, but it seemed that all had to come to an end when the demon took a blast of dark energy to the chest and was sent careening through the wall and outside the building.

"I say, good show," Asami said while looking at Hazuki with a grin, the goth smirking and replying, "He was asking for it."

The people in the cafeteria stared before cheering, the principal taking a deep breath. No one dared question where the five heroes had suddenly come from as this was certainly good timing. However, the one most shocked was Beelzemon himself.

"I had a feeling something like this would happen," the demon said as he slowly got up and dusted himself off, "but I'm surprise that hurt so much. She may not look exactly like the original, but I'm sure that's the form of a champion level Digimon, so that should have dealt a minor scratch at best."

However, rather than feeling threatened, he simply had a grin on his face as he added, "It's gonna be even more satisfying when I beat them."

With that, the girls stepped outside as the demon smirked and said, "I heard you were tough, but they didn't tell me you'd all be so cute," before letting out a howl as Chise, Cho and Asami shuddered.

Akari, on the other hand, ignored his words and looked at the demon with concern, asking, "Why do you attack us?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Beelzemon asked as Akari replied, "Well, it's clear to me that you're not being controlled like the other Digimon, and I don't think those last two were either."

"Well, aren't you perceptive," Beelzemon remarked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's just, you can choose not to attack us," Akari replied, "and yet you've decided to hurt people anyway. Why would you do that? What do you have to gain? Wasn't it mankind that created you?"

Beelzemon took a deep breath and replied, "I will admit, at first I thought maybe you were crazy, but those are actually valid questions. I may look like a punk, but even I can be civil enough to answer a question when it's presented to me."

"This oughta be good," Cho whispered as Chise was not sure whether or not she wanted to hear the explanation.

"Look, I got nothing against your kind, okay?" Beelzemon asked, "Like you said, a human made us. I think that's pretty cool. However, I also enjoy fighting for my life and being on the winning side, and right now, the side I'm on seems like the best option."

"Wait, what!?" Cho retorted, "We've been dominating your side all this time! How are you guys the winners!?"

"You don't know a thing, do you?" Beelzemon asked with a smirk, "Well, you're all gonna die today anyway, so there's no harm telling you this."

The people all stared in confusion, Juri having been at the scene for a while as she said, "Everyone, we are now going to find out why these monsters, who were apparently created by someone in our world, have been coming here to attack us."

Commandramon, all the while, really wished Beelzemon would stop talking as the demon explained, "See, we Digimon used to live kinda like your world's animals. Things were fine between us, fights rarely ever broke out. However, some of the Digimon turned into viruses. Thus our maker decided to give us a little something called Digivolution to combat them."

"That's what it's called when we get stronger," Akari said as Cho asked, "That's what it's called? Why wasn't I told this?"

"Believe it or not, I an many others at my level used to be too weak to handle the viruses," Beelzemon replied, "but thanks to the power to Digivolve, taking care of them was a piece of cake. But then there came one who was stronger than the rest. He has not told anyone his name, but even though he's a level lower than me, he still outclasses us in power."

"So you just chose to blindly serve him because you couldn't beat him," Cho replied, "Sounds to me like you're just a coward."

"No, I'm a survivor," Beelzemon remarked, "And believe you me, his power isn't the reason I serve him. It's his plan. He's slowly building power and becoming stronger by the day and one day, he'll become powerful enough to spread himself all across the Digital world. Not only that, but he'll soon be able to infect your world as well, then all will belong to him. I found out the hard way that this future is inevitable no matter how hard people like you try to stop it. But he has promised to spare those who choose to serve him, so I feel like I've made the right choice."

Chise trembled and whimpered, "That virus is c-c-coming here?" Asami gasping, "My word! That's awful!"

Cho and Hazuki on the other hand were angered by his words as Cho sighed, "I was right. You are a coward."

Akari nodded and replied, "I'm not the kind to call names, but I don't believe it's right to give up just because his power might be higher than yours. We've faced opponents stronger than us before and yet we've always managed to pull through. It might be possible."

Beelzemon took a deep breath and smirked, saying, "Your optimism is adorable, you know that?" Cho fuming as the demon added, "Believe you me, I used to believe those words, but now I know better. I know I'm serving evil and that if I was born in your world, I'd likely go to Hell someday, but as I told you, I'm a survivor. Fighting for others may come first for you, but living comes first for me."

But while Beelzemon had made up his mind, Commandramon had a look of uncertainty in his eyes. Could Akari's words be correct? Had he been serving the wrong side all this time?

"I must say, this is very startling information," Juri said, "and quite a lot I'm expected to believe."

The woman then let out a sigh and asked, "Seriously, how can I say any of this with a straight face? These creatures are called Digimon and they've been created by some guy on a computer and somehow they came here and now a virus is planning on infecting our world. What's next? These girls are high school students with Digimon spirits giving them power?"

All went silent save for a few crickets chirping as she looked around and asked, "Did I just hit the nail on the head?"

Cho, Chise, Asami and Hazuki turned to Akari who took a deep breath and said, "I tried to talk him out of it, but he's not going to listen to reason. It hurts me to do this, but we're going to have to stop him."

With that, the girls nodded as Hazuki exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" pointing her hands toward the demon and firing dark energy.

Now that he actually saw it coming, Beelzemon easily dodged to the side. However, Cho and Chise had expected this as as both were headed toward that very direction. Cho was spinning while shouting, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!" and Chise rolled toward the demon and squeaked, "DIAMOND SHELL!"

Beelzemon immediately saw the flaw with this plan as he placed one of his pistols in his holster and used the same hand to take hold of Cho's arm. The girl's eyes widened as he proceeded to ram her into Chise like a baseball bat and send the blond flying into the wall of the school. When many students stared at her, she blushed with embarrassment.

Akari, on the other hand, was taking a different sort of approach as she clung to Asami's ankles, the rich girl flying her toward Beelzemon. With that, she leaned her legs back and launched the cat girl toward the demon as she held her claws out and spat, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

However, Beelzemon once again saw this coming as he dodged to the right and leaned backward, lifting his foot high above his head. With that, he proceeded to send it hard into Akari's side as she squeaked in pain, tumbling along the pavement while the citizens were now worried.

"I'll admit, you girls do certainly have spirit," the demon said, "but let me explain to you how Digimon levels work. Right now, all of you are too weak to possibly stop me."

The others stared in confusion as he added, "Look, there are six different levels of Digimon. Newborns are naturally babies and are unable to fight. When they're of a certain age, they Digivolve to the in-training stage. That's when they gain the ability to fight back but not very well."

Beelzemon then pointed at Cho, Chise and Asami and explained, "You three are in what's called the rookie level. That's the last form Digimon take on naturally. The rest has to be achieved under certain circumstances. Either way, rookie levels are able to fight independently but it's recommended they don't face anyone past the champion level."

With that, he proceeded to point at Akari and Hazuki before stating, "You two somehow ended up becoming champions. This is the first really powerful form a Digimon can take on."

"This is really complicated," Cho uttered before asking, "Is anyone actually following this?"

"One step further is the ultimate level," Beelzemon said, "That's the level Tankdramon was at. That's a very powerful form and rookies can barely deal so much as a scratch to them. But me, I'm the highest level of all, the mega level. Unless one of you reaches ultimate, you won't even stand a small chance against me, though I warn you, I'm even better than other mega level Digimon."

All went silent as the humans had a bit of trouble figuring out what this meant. However, Akari and the others soon figured it out, though Cho needed a few more seconds than the others.

"But wait, by your logic, my attack should have barely done a thing earlier," Hazuki said, Beelzemon nodding and replying, "Yeah, I was wondering about that. Though it is true that a Digimon's body can play a part. I heard you had a bit of trouble with Tankmon and Tankdramon, and I'm sure it's because their bodies are tougher than mine. But still, your attack should not have sent me flying like that."

Commandramon nodded and thought, 'He has a good point. I wonder what that could mean.'

"Well, it's obvious what's going on here, right?" Asami asked with a shrug, "We were chosen to take on the powers of these Digimon to fight those who brought harm to us. Perhaps our human bodies combined with the Digimon have made their powers stronger."

All went silent until Beelzemon said, "That would make sense," the demon then grinning and exclaiming, "That just means it'll be even more satisfying when I kill you!"

With that, the demon pointed his pistols toward the girls and fired a barrage of bullets toward them. The girls narrowly dodged in time to avoid fatal damage, but not quick enough to avoid being hit.

One of the bullets grazed Akari's shoulder while another nicked Cho's arm. One got Hazuki's leg while Asami also took a hit to the shoulder. The only one who did not take in pain was Chise who hid in her shell, though her eyes were wide with panic as the bullet that had been aimed at her was stuck in the shell and mere millimetres away from her forehead.

The others winced in pain while holding their bleeding spots as Beelzemon laughed and exclaimed, "See!? Even with enhanced strength, you still don't stand a chance!"


	15. Chapter 15

Things were not looking good. The fight had started well, but that was only because of Hazuki's sneak attack. Now that Beelzemon knew the girls were there, the five were having trouble hitting him. Sure, they had learned some rather convenient information, but it hardly mattered if they could not strike their opponent.

"If this thing about levels is true, then we're gonna have to get stronger," Cho said with a sigh, "We're bleeding right now. I think that's more than dire enough, don't you?"

Hazuki and Akari nodded before closing their eyes, all three girls praying to move onto their next levels. All the while, Chise and Asami could not help but feel a tad envious that they had not figured out how to do that yet.

With that, Cho quickly changed form as her headband became a scarf and her tube top and vest switched colours, spikes now attached to her boxing gloves. However, just like the others times, Akari and Hazuki could not bring their ultimate levels out. But why?

"I heard one of you was able to Digivolve," Beelzemon said with a smirk, "Too bad it's the rookie. If you had one ultimate in your team, you might actually stand a chance."

"Hey, cram it!" Cho exclaimed before opening her mouth and barking, "SPIRAL BLOW!" as a gust of spinning wind came from her mouth.

However, Beelzemon saw this coming a mile away and leapt to the side saying, "Not only is the only Digivolved form champion, it's a champion with a bad temper! So much for a challenge!"

The demon proceeded to aim his guns at the blue-haired girl only for Hazuki to shout, "RAZOR WING!" as a fierce black wind flew toward him.

The demon ducked under it only to notice Chise rolling toward him while shouting, "DIAMOND SHELL!" the girl ramming herself hard into his face as he backed up a bit, wiping a small drop of blood off his nose.

"So it's true," he uttered, "By merging the Digimon with human bodies, their power has increased by quite a bit. Any other rookie wouldn't have gotten so much as a reaction out of me with that."

All the while, Chise's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "I did it! I hit him!" only for Cho to shove her out of the way when Beelzemon fired as hot toward her.

Unfortunately, this ended up hitting Cho in the side as she cried out in pain, more blood coming out as she fell hard on her face. To make matters worse, she knew it was only a matter of time until her champion level wore off.

"First rule of combat," Beelzemon stated with a smirk, "never let your guard down for a second!"

Akari, all the while, was actually frightened now. Sure, she and the others had taken in hits during battle before, but it had never been this fatal. If that bullet had hit Cho's heart, it would have killed her for sure.

With this in mind, Akari knew she would need her ultimate form as she took a deep breath and thought, 'Please, Gatomon, give me the power to end this quickly. You probably want me in more danger before I use this, but I really need this! I need to heal Cho as quickly as possible!'

However, it once again failed as Akari was about to break out into tears. She did not understand this. Gatomon had told her that if she ever wanted to become her angel form, she would simply have to wish it under dire circumstances. Was this not dire enough?

It would have explained why Hazuki had not been able to take on her vampire form ever since she got this new champion level. Though it did not explain why the champion form had replaced her old one when she was able to become ultimate right away before.

Beelzemon let out a sigh and said, "You know, I was having fun at first, but now I'm just disappointed. You five have no idea how to use these powers, do you?"

"You hold your tongue!" Asami retorted while gritting her teeth, "I'll have you know that my friends are the strongest people I know! They have hearts of gold! They taught me what it meant to be a true hero and I will give my life for them!" the people in the area staring in shock.

At that moment, a small red hawk wearing a belt around his head with a feather sticking out of the back appeared before her. Asami stared and asked, "Excuse me, but would you happen to be my spirit?"

"That is correct," the bird replied while folding his wings, "I am Hawkmon."

"Why have you appeared right now?" Asami asked as the hawk replied, "It is because of what you just said. I will admit, I was not completely sure if you were worthy of my power before, but now I know. As such, I am granting you the power to Digivolve."

Asami's eyes sparkled as she asked, "Really?" as Hawkmon nodded his head and replied, "Yes, if ever you need this power in the future, just wish it, but only under the worst of circumstances as Digivolution does not last long when used by humans."

With that, Asami's body started to glow as her wings vanished and reappeared on her back while becoming much bigger. A pair of black bull horns formed on the sides of her head. Her clothes vanished and were replaced by a red stockings with only one leg and a matching tube top with the bottom cut like a triangle. A scarf made of white feathers wrapped itself around her shoulders while tail feathers sprouted out of her rear end.

Beelzemon's eyes widened as Commandramon gulped, the demon nodding and saying, "So you've Digivolved too. Again, too bad it's just a champion."

"Yes, but last I checked, champions were number one," Asami retorted before opening her mouth and releasing ring-like beams and shouting, "BLAST RINGS!"

Beelzemon simply leapt over it only for Asami to soar at him while shouting, "GRAND HORN!" the rich girl ramming her horns hard into Beelzemon's shoulder as he gasped and fell hard on his back, grunting in pain.

Asami then landed gracefully against the ground and gave a bow while the people all cheered. Akari and Chise both breathed a sigh of relief while Cho looked up and gave a weak smile. Hazuki was actually quite amazed that Asami had pulled that off.

To top it off, the girls knew it would not be a good idea to let Beelzemon recover. He had already proven himself extremely powerful, so they could not pass up an opportunity like this.

With that, Hazuki soared toward Beelzemon and slashed her claws against his chest while shouting, "DEATH CLAW!" thus drawing blood as Akari added to the damage with her own claws and exclaimed, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

Chise also added to the damage by once again using Diamond Shell, this time propelling herself into the air and landing on his face hard. The only one who had not done anything was Cho as she had taken in too much pain from the bullet earlier. And her time was up as well, so she had reverted back to her rookie level.

Commandramon was just about to rush in and help when he heard something unexpected. Rather than feeling discouraged, Beelzemon had a smirk on his face as he chuckled softly. That chuckle soon grew into a big laugh as he slowly rose to his feet and exclaimed, "Wow! Now things are heating up! Maybe this fight won't be so boring after all!"

Chise was trembling and whimpering while the others stared in horror. Sure, a part of them had expected this to happen, but they were still hoping he would stay down, especially Asami. She could not help but feel as if that hit she had dealt to him had been a fluke.

Even so, the girls were not going to let him shoot them again, so when he whipped out his pistols, they immediately spread out. They were not even going to give him time to shoot.

"I must say, people," Juri said, "this fight has gotten very intense. Just when you think the odds are in the favour of the heroes, this new demonic creature, or Digimon or whatever he's called is showing a great deal of persistence."

Asami knew she would not remain in her new form much longer. As such, she sent ring beams from her mouth toward Beelzemon. Like last time, Beelzemon simply dodged to the right when Asami soared toward him, Akari lunging at the demon from the side.

However, Beelzemon was prepared this time as he exclaimed, "Do you think I'm dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice!?" before throwing out his hands and grabbing hold of Asami's horns. With that, he hurled her into Akari as both were sent flying into a lamppost.

However, this distraction gave Hazuki ample time to strike the demon from behind while Chise added to the damage. With that, the demon was sent flying forward. But before he could hit the ground, he managed to spin himself around and fire two bullets toward the girls.

Unfortunately, both were unable to react as Hazuki took a bullet to her shoulder, the goth crying out in pain. Chise, all the while, barely dodged a bullet to the skull when she instinctively tucked herself into her shell.

To make matters worse, Beelzemon landed perfectly on his feet as he slid back a bit with a smirk. Commandramon, all the while, could not help but feel relieved. Despite all of the girls' best efforts, they were losing horribly.

"As I said, even with enhanced strength, you don't stand a chance," Beelzemon said as Hazuki twitched, her arm going numb from the bullet wound.

'No!' Akari thought before closing her eyes, 'Please, Gatomon, why aren't you helping me!? I need you more than ever right now!'

When Asami reverted to normal, Akari knew she needed her angel form as suddenly, her body started to glow as her form changed. Her hair became long and blond as she now had eight beautiful wings coming from her back. Her battle mask formed on her face and she now wielded a white bow.

Beelzemon stared in shock and uttered, "Angewomon?" as Commandramon's eyes widened.

Akari glared at the demon and exclaimed, "Beelzemon, I do not like having to do this, but you have left me with no choice! I'm going to strike you down here and now!"

But just as the girl was about to form the ring for her Holy Air, Commandramon took a deep breath and pointed his rifle at her back. He gritted his teeth and uttered, "I'm sorry, Beelzemon, but not even you stand a chance against her."

And with that, Akari's mouth opened wide when she felt a bullet lodge itself into her back. Everyone stared in shock as a bit of blood flew out of the wound, Akari falling forward and hitting the pavement hard.

All went silent as Beelzemon blinked and asked, "What just happened?"

Commandramon pursed his lips, hoping the demon would not catch on. It seemed to have worked as he broke out into hysterics, shouting, "OH MAN, YOU MUST HAVE TAKEN IN MORE PAIN THAN I THOUGHT! EVEN AFTER BECOMING AN ULTIMATE, YOU CAN'T STAND ANYMORE!"

Seeing this, the girls all stared in silence before exclaiming, "AKARI!" not even realizing how bad it was for them to so much as mention her name, let alone in such a loud voice.

"You mean Akari Tendo?" one of the nearby students asked as another replied, "Can't be. She has red hair and she's a wimp. Besides, Akari's a common name."

"Well, it seems we now know the name of one of Tokyo's heroes," Juri stated, "and for some reason, the name has left quite a few people in shock."

However, while the students in Akari's grade were debating about this, Yumi, who had been watching the news at the time, simply stared at the screen with her eyes wide open. The woman immediately turned the TV off and raced to her car before taking off.

'It all makes sense now,' the woman thought with a look of fear in her eyes, 'When she asked me if it was okay to do something important even if it went against your morals and brought harm to someone, this is what it was about.'

"Akari, eh?" Beelzemon asked, "That's a pretty name. Too bad I'm going to have to blow your brains out."

With that, the demon marched over to her and held his pistol right next to her head with a smirk, saying, "It's nothing personal. It's just business."

However, the others would not allow this as Hazuki and Cho both ignored the extreme pain dealt to them. With that, Hazuki's body glowed as she finally managed to take on her ultimate form. Her clothes vanished and were replaced by a blue suit. Her hair became blond and a red mask formed over her eyes. Her ears became like those of an elf and her shoes were replaced by a boots with skulls on them. A cape formed around her neck while a gold bat emblem appeared under that very spot.

The others stared as she bit into her finger and exclaimed, "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" as her blood trickled down and formed into a whip.

Beelzemon turned to face her as he took the whip to the face. The others wasted no time joining in as Hazuki proceeded to wrap her blood around the demon to hold him in place. Even Cho no longer cared about the pain in her side as she spat, "GAO RUSH!" sending an onslaught of punches into Beelzemon's face.

Chise added to the damage to ramming herself into his gut while Asami formed a beak and started pecking vigorously at him. However, Beelzemon was not going to let this finish him off as he threw out his arms and caused the blood whip to snap open.

He then proceeded to strike Asami hard just below her chest with his claws, blood flying from the gash he had formed. He then proceeded to do the same to grab Chise while she was still in her shell and hurl her hard into Hazuki's face like a dodge ball. To top it all off, he grabbed Cho's wrists and swung her around before hurling her into the school wall.

He took many deep breaths when suddenly, Akari rose to her feet. Luckily, she had only been out for a minute, so she still had her ultimate form as Commandramon gulped. He knew that if he fired one more time, Beelzemon would become suspicious of his meddling.

Akari took a deep breath and said, "You should have killed me when you had the chance. Now you're going to pay for everything."

With that, the girl formed a ring of light over her head as energy rained down, the angel exclaiming, "Holy Air!"

Commandramon trembled as Beelzemon found himself paralysed. And like before, the wounds of both Akari and her comrades had been healed, though since they had taken in hits from bullets, they had not recovered completely. The healing had just been enough to give them the ability to keep fighting.

With that, Akari held out her bow and pulled on the string as an arrow of light formed. But rather than feeling intimidated, Beelzemon simply smirked and exclaimed, "You think that's gonna stop me!? You may be stronger, but you're still one level below me!"

With that, he held out his pistol and let loose a bullet toward Akari's heart. However, she saw this coming and dodged just enough to avoid having it hit her heart. However, it had managed to hit her arm as a blood dripped down, but Akari ignored the pain and got a perfect lock on the opponent's chest.

Yumi had arrived at that exact moment as she stared wide-eyed. She slowly exited the car, not believing for a second that her daughter would even think of killing someone.

"CELESTIAL ARROW!" Akari exclaimed before releasing her hold on the string. Beelzemon attempted to dodge only for Hazuki to once again trap him with her whip, giving Akari a thumb up.

This was certainly a good thing as Akari had just lost her angel form and reverted to being a cat girl when the arrow lodged itself deep into Beelzemon's chest. However, rather than hitting the left side with his heart, it instead hit his right side.

Beelzemon's eyes widened as he fell hard on his back, taking a deep breath as blood trickled down from his new wound. Commandramon gulped and trembled in fear. Despite his efforts to help, the girls had still won.

However, when she saw where the arrow was, she nodded in understanding as the demon coughed up a bit of blood before weakly asking, "Why don't you just finish me off? You know I'll kill you if you don't, right?"

Akari shook her head and replied, "I don't believe that. You have free will and know that what you're doing is wrong. You can choose not to do this. I said I'd stop you, but I never said I'd kill you."

"Good old Akari," Cho said with a smirk as Hazuki nodded and remembered how the redhead had shown her mercy as well.

"But..." Beelzemon uttered only for Akari to continue saying, "I'm sure it's possible to stop this virus from spreading. You're not being controlled like the others. You can choose to fight with us and together, we can stop him."

Commandramon's eyes widened at the sound of this as he bit his lower lip. All the while, Yumi simply stared in silence, not sure whether to be mortified by the fact that her daughter had just been in a life-threatening battle with a demon or happy that she was willing to give him a second chance after all he had done.

Beelzemon looked around as the other girls smiled and nodded, everyone else in the area staring silently as Juri asked, "Could it be? Do these Digimon actually have the capacity to change their ways like people do?"

A light smirk formed on the demon's face as he weakly said, "You're a good kid, Akari," a big smile forming on the cat girl's face as he slowly pushed himself up and took many deep breaths, adding, "And you know what? There might be truth to your words. Despite being weaker, you girls actually managed to beat me. Up until now, even mega level Digimon couldn't stop me. I guess if I work with you, I could stop-"

However, he was soon cut off when a bang could be heard nearby, Beelzemon looking down and noticed a bullet wound on the left side of his chest. He then turned toward a bush that had smoke coming from it and noticed Commandramon's eyes.

The others turned as the dinosaur used his mouse to open up and portal and flee for his life, Cho exclaiming, "HEY, GET BACK HERE, YOU PRICK!" Chise taking hold of the blue-haired girl's shoulder and shaking her head.

However, rather than feeling upset let alone the slightest hint of a negative emotion, Beelzemon simply chuckled and uttered, "Well, what do you know? In the end, I was killed by a rookie. I guess anything really is possible."

With that, he slowly closed his eyes and passed out, tears welling up in Akari's eyes as his body slowly turned into data and floated into the sky. Once high enough, the data vanished as no one could believe what they had just seen. Despite Akari giving him another chance, Beelzemon had still died.

"Akari, I am so sorry," Asami uttered as Chise whimpered, "If we knew he was there, we would have stopped him."

"It's okay," Akari replied with a big smile despite tears still rolling down her cheeks, "I know he'll be reborn and maybe fight alongside us."

However, the moment was interrupted when Yumi ran over and exclaimed, "Akari!" the cat girl turning as her eyes and mouth widened with shock. How long had her mother been there?

The other girls simply backed away from the two as Yumi held Akari close, one of the students saying, "I recognize her. That's Akari Tendo's mom," one replying, "No way! That confirms it!"

The woman looked deep into the cat girl's eyes as tears of her own formed, the woman sniffing, "It really is you."

"Mom..." Akari uttered but was unable to say anymore as her mother held her in a tight embrace. She was so happy that her daughter was okay.

All the while, Commandramon had gone to his leader to deliver the news. The spider stroked his chin and said, "I seems even with prior knowledge, I still underestimated them."

He then stared at Commandramon and added, "Still, good job taking Beelzemon out."

"Did you just say 'good job'?" Commandramon asked as the spider nodded and replied, "Yes. If you had let Beelzemon live, I might actually be in trouble. He could have brought them straight here and while I may be strong, I don't think I'm ready to deal with a team that powerful yet."

Commandramon simply stared at his master as the spider nodded his head and added, "So yes, you've done a very good job," the dinosaur's eyes sparkling. As if being the master's general was not high enough of an honour, he had just been congratulated for the first time in his life.

Cho, Chise and Asami had not been found out by their parents unlike Akari. Luckily for them, their parents had all been at work so they had no time to watch or even listen to the news. Sure, they may not have revealed themselves, but considering their friendship with Akari, they knew if their parents heard that report, they would have seen the connection eventually if not immediately.

However, Akari was now forced to sit on the living room couch with a bandage over her arm as Yumi told Kenta about everything in the kitchen. Akari tried to look on the bright side all the while. While this certainly had the result she was afraid of, at least she no longer had to hide this secret from her parents.

"So let me get this straight," Kenta sighed, "That cat girl who's been killing monsters is our daughter. Honey, I love you, but you sound crazy."

"I know, but the other girls said her name," Yumi remarked, "and when I came to her side, she didn't deny any of it. She even changed back to normal on the ride home."

Kenta took a deep breath and entered the living room before asking, "Akari, honey, is it true? Are you really that cat girl from the news?" Akari nodding and pulling out her diamond before replying, "Yes. I transform with this."

"And where did you get it!?" Yumi exclaimed with a concerned look in her eyes, "I want you to return it this instance!"

"I can't!" Akari squeaked with tears in her eyes, "It appeared to me by my bedside the day after that dinosaur attacked us. I can't get rid of it. I don't know why, but something tells me if I tried, I wouldn't be able to."

Yumi then proceeded to hold her hand out as she demanded, "Hand it over," Akari biting her lip as the woman took it from her. However, it seemed Akari's assumption was correct as once Yumi took hold of it, the diamond glowed and vanished from her hands.

"Where did it go?" Yumi asked as Akari reached into her pocket and pulled it out, Kenta sighing, "Well, seems this is out of our control."

"How can you just accept this!?" Yumi retorted before turning to Akari and asking, "What else are you not telling us? You're friend Fukuko, she was eaten by one of those things, right? Was she fighting them too?"

Akari nodded as Yumi asked, "And those other four girls, are they your friends from school?" Akari nodding again and replying, "Asami doesn't go to our school, but yes."

"Akari, why didn't you tell us?" Yumi asked as Kenta added, "Okay, that's actually a good question. I'd like to know that too, honey."

"Because I knew that if I did, you'd be worried," Akari replied with tears in her eyes, "I don't want you to worry because then you'll be scared every time I go off to protect people and that will make you feel bad every night."

Yumi was not sure if she could believe this answer for a few seconds, but after a while, she nodded her head in understanding. After all, she knew Akari was not the kind of person to think selfishly, to keep this information just so she could go off and do things without her parents trying to stop her. She had always thought of the feelings of those close to her.

With that in mind, Yumi gave her a hug and sniffed, "Don't say anymore," before sighing, "Clearly someone out there thinks you're fit to protect Tokyo, and from what little I saw today, I can safely say you are."

"Wait, you're okay with our daughter fighting monsters?" Kenta asked as Akari added, "Yeah, you're okay with me fighting Digimon?"

Yumi took a deep breath and replied, "Of course not, but you seem to know what you're doing."

Kenta and Akari both stared in disbelief. This seemed far too convenient. But all the same, Akari was happy that her mother at least understood as she returned her mother's hug, Yumi adding, "Also, honey, I worry about you a lot. It's my job."

Akari had a big smiled on her face as she felt like things were truly taking a turn for the better. But even so, there was still one problem to think about. The leader of the Digimon was planning to spread himself all throughout the Digimon world and the human world. What could the girls possibly do about that?


	16. Chapter 16

Tuesday was rather awkward at school for Akari as now that everyone knew her secret, she was the talk of the school. Even those who never knew who she was before now wanted to be friends with her and as such, Cho had been acting as her bodyguard all day. Akari did not mind the attention, but at the same time, she did not wish to be a distraction to everyone who laid eyes on her.

During Science class, so many people wanted her to be their partner and were envious when she chose Cho over them. A part of Akari felt bad about letting so many down like that but Cho assured her that this was not a big deal.

Before the next class could begin, Akari was already in her seat as everyone else had followed her. Students were often barely made the bell were early thanks to their obsession with wanting to be near the famous hero who had saved them from Beelzemon the previous day.

One student looked at her bandage and asked, "Can I see the bullet wound?" Akari giving a friendly smile and nervously replying, "Sorry, but it's not a good idea to expose that to the air."

"May I have an autograph?" one student asked before pulling out two pieces of paper and adding, "I'd like another one for my five-year-old sister. She says you're her hero."

Akari's eyes sparkled at the sound of this as she kindly nodded her head and replied, "Okay."

After she did so, many students stared silently before rushing to their desks to get their own pieces of paper so they could have her autograph. Cho simply groaned, "Well, now we have another reason not to reveal our secret."

During lunchtime, Cho had to keep everyone away as she sighed, "My god, I am so sorry, Akari. If we'd kept our mouths shut, no one would have found out your secret," Chise nodding and whimpering, "Yeah, if I had this kind of attention, I'd probably hide away in my house forever."

"Actually, I'm okay with this," Akari replied with a light smile, Cho sighing, "You're okay with everything as long as it's not criminal."

"Actually, it's because of what that one guy said earlier," the redhead replied, "Being somebody's hero feels really nice, like I'm inspiring someone to do better in life."

"I never thought about that," Hazuki replied, "My parents already know about and approve of this. Maybe I should reveal that I'm helping her," as Cho sighed, "Honestly, I'm surprised no one's put two-and-two together yet."

At that moment, Asami entered as everyone stared once again. The rich girl walked over and said, "Sorry for my tardiness, girls. I had a little extra schoolwork before I could leave for lunch."

She then looked around at all the eyes staring at Akari as opposed to her as she smirked and said, "Well, look who's famous," the redhead giggling nervously, her cheeks beet red.

"Yeah, that's all well and good, but something's been bothering me since yesterday," Cho said, "And I'm sure you guys have been thinking about it too."

"Oh yeah, those words Beelzemon said," Hazuki replied as Chise squeaked, hoping they were not referring to that.

"I know what you mean," Asami replied, "Just the thought that a deadly virus is going to infect us all! I almost lost sleep over that!"

"Almost?" Cho remarked as the rich girl shrugged and replied, "Well, how can you not sleep when you have the comfiest bed in all of Tokyo?" the blue-haired girl rolling her eyes.

Since the others had not been found out yet, they all lowered their tones as Cho stated, "We all need to find a way to stop this from happening, and I think the best way is to stop him before he reaches the level of power he needs."

"How are we going to do that, though?" Hazuki asked, "Unless we can somehow enter their world, it's not going to happen anytime soon."

"Yes, that is quite troublesome," Asami stated as the girls thought about this, Akari's eyes sparkling as she suggested, "Maybe we can find it on a computer."

The girls stared at her as she added, "It makes sense. The Digimon are from a computer game, right? We just have to find it."

All went silent as Akari looked at the others. It soon dawned on her why. As legit as the idea sounded, they had no idea where to look. For all they knew, the game probably only existed on one computer that was not even in Tokyo.

"I guess all we can do is keep fighting Digimon in the hopes that someday, somebody will stop them," Cho said as the others let out a big sigh and nodded. As much as they hated to admit it, Cho had a point. What could they possibly do?

The rest of the school day went by well enough. The girls decided to focus more on their studies than the Digimon issue, but they knew they could not run away from it. They would at least try to discover a way to get into the world of the Digimon while trying to stop them no matter how long it took.

However, when Asami returned home from school, she noticed her parents were already there as she smiled and bowed her head saying, "Hello, Mother. Hello, Father. You're home early."

"Yes, we are," Akihiko replied before asking, "Asami, sweetie, may we have a word with you in your room?"

The silver-haired girl blinked and replied, "Well, certainly," as she followed the two. She wondered if this had anything to do with the sleepover Akari had planned for the upcoming weekend. As it just so happened, her parents had not given her an immediate response when she asked them about it.

Once inside Asami's room, Anna quickly ordered the servants standing outside not to disturb them as this was to be a private conversation. Now her daughter was starting to worry as Anna closed the door tight, locking it just to be certain.

"Asami, darling," Akihiko said with a look of concern, "we know your secret. Muso told us."

"Wait, what!?" Asami retorted as Anna nodded and replied, "It's true. He said he told us for your own safety, and we believe he made the right call."

Asami's mouth and eyes were wide open as Akihiko stated, "Look, we know you're only doing what you think is best, but we simply can't allow you to throw yourself into danger like that. We love you too much."

"How much do you know!?" Asami retorted as Akihiko snapped, "Watch your tone, lady!"

Anna patted her husband on the shoulder and sighed, "Muso told us every detail, how you become one of those heroes whenever that diamond attached to your necklace glows. He also told us your new friends have those diamonds too."

Asami simply shook her head as Akihiko put on a more serious look and stated, "Asami, as your father, I want you to do two things for me. One, I want you to break all ties you have with those middle-class citizens of yours. They are decent people, but they are clearly a bad influence on you."

The silver-haired girl gave her father a look of confusion as he uttered, "That didn't come out right," Anna taking a deep breath and adding, "The second thing we want you to do is hand over that diamond. You may think you're some kind of hero, but I know you. You're meant for greater things. Banking is your future. You're not cut out for this hero stuff. Honestly, I'm surprised you came back from that fight yesterday alive."

Asami took a deep breath and glared at her parents before remarking, "I hate to break it to you, but I can't get rid of this diamond."

With that, the girl took off her necklace and placed it on the ground. As soon as she did so, the diamond disappeared only to reappear in her pocket as she pulled it out. Akihiko's eyes widened as he turned to his wife with uncertainty. It was rather difficult to argue with that.

However, Anna simply rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, now I get it. You think that because you can't get rid of the diamond, it means that you have to use it. Well, let me tell you something, honey. Just because you have something doesn't mean you don't have the choice not to use it."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND AT ALL!" Asami retorted in the loudest tone she had ever used, the servants standing outside staring at the door with their eyes wide open.

Anna and Akihiko were taken aback as the girl added, "Mom, you have been underestimating me my whole life! All this time, I have waited for an opportunity to prove you wrong, and I feel I have finally found that! It's true, when this diamond first appeared, I felt as if I had to use it, like fate was telling me I had to be a hero! And what's more, I have never been interested in banking! I wanted to at least do something more useful and exciting in my life, and this was a golden opportunity! I not only wanted to do something more exciting, but I also wanted to prove you wrong about me!"

"Asami, I didn't know-" Anna uttered only for the silver-haired girl to hold up her hand to silence her before stating, "However, when I met the other heroes, I was unable to use my diamond. But when I saw them in danger, saw just how difficult things were, I realized how important this job is. I understood how much those girls needed me in their team, how much the city needed me to help protect them! This isn't just something I'm doing out of obligation or for fame! I do it because it's right and if you can't understand that, then I don't want to be a part of this family anymore!"

Anna and Akihiko stared in stunned silence. They could not believe what they had just heard. Did Asami really mean that?

"Asami, you don't know what you're saying," Anna uttered only for the girl to retort, "Yes I do!"

With that, the silver-haired girl proceeded to march toward her door after shoving her parents to the side. She then proceeded to hold up the sides of her dress before sprinting out the door, the adults both standing in her room in stunned silence. Sure, they wanted to pursue her right now, but at the same time, they had a feeling their daughter would not stop no matter how hard they pleaded.

"Do you think we might have been too demanding?" Akihiko asked as Anna uttered, "I don't know. This has never happened before."

Before heading out the front door, Asami noticed Muso and scowled at him. The butler simply looked down, a part of him feeling at fault for this as the girl picked up her fancy track shoes and slipped them on, knowing that high heels would be a pain to run in, and proceeded to storm out of the mansion.

Just as she was about to reach the sidewalk, she stepped on the front of her dress and fell forward, hitting the pavement hard. The girl simply ignored the pain she had taken in before growling, "STUPID DRESS!"

With that, she did something unthinkable and placed a firm grip against the bottom of her dress before tearing the material. Now it went up just above her knees and was no longer symmetrical but right now, the rich girl did not care. She just wanted to get as far away from her family as possible.

Roughly twenty-five minutes after this, Akari was helping Yumi make dinner as the woman asked, "So, honey, when are you and your friends going out on your patrol today?" the redhead replying, "Unless Cho calls me up and tells me about an attack, we were thinking somewhere around five."

Kenta simply raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay, I can't help but find it weird how casual you two are being about this," when suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Akari said with a smile before getting up and heading to the door and opening it, surprised to see Asami standing there with red bags under her eyes. The redhead could tell her friend had been crying as the rich girl sniffed and whimpered, "Hi, Akari. May I come inside?"

Akari simply sported a big friendly smile and replied, "Of course you can," before letting her in.

And with that, Asami was led to the couch in the living room where she told Akari everything that had just happened. She told of how her parents had told her to give up being a hero and seeing the others, how she had stormed out of her mansion and ripped her dress and how it was her butler who ratted her out. She also told of how she had snapped at her parents.

Akari gave her a friend a warm smile followed by a hug. Asami let down tears and returned the hug while Akari's parents were rather concerned after hearing all of this.

"I can't go back," the silver-haired girl sniffed, "not after saying all of that. So I was wondering if maybe I could live with you."

All went silent as Kenta, Yumi and Akari all stared at the rich girl as if she was crazy. Did she even realize what she was saying?

"Look, you were the first person to ever have faith in me," Asami added, "You're the first real friend I've ever had. I trust you more than anyone else," Kenta all the while staring into space while uttering, "Wow, a rich girl living under our roof."

Yumi shook her head at her husband before saying, "Well, I'll allow it if Akari's okay with it, but only for a while, a week at the most. However, you're going to have to clear things up with your parents eventually. I won't have you freeloading off of us."

"Freeloading?" Asami remarked, "Are you kidding? I have more than enough in my bank account to support myself. In fact, I could help you all out."

Kenta's eyes sparkled as Yumi shook her head at him, Akari sighing, "Asami, Mom's right. I was thinking the same thing until she said it. You can stay here for a little bit, but you really should clear things up with your parents."

"But they were talking about separating me from you and the others!" Asami remarked, "Forbidding me from fighting Digimon is one thing, but keeping me away from the only real friends I've ever had is simply going too far!"

"I agree with you entirely on that," Yumi replied with a grin as Kenta nodded and replied, "Oh yeah, I'm with you. They may be your parents, but even I don't think they have the right to keep you away from your friends, especially Akari."

Akari nodded with a big smile and squealed, "Yeah, friendship is something that can't just go away because someone demands it!" Asami then asking, "But then how can I go back? How can I possibly face them knowing they're going to try to do just that?"

"Here's my advice," Yumi replied, "First, you should apologize for lashing out at them and saying those hurtful words. But after that, you should also tell them that they cannot destroy your friendship and also tell them that you are good at what you do. I mean, you do feel you've contributed well to the team, right?"

Asami looked at Akari who nodded and replied, "Yeah, you've been a great help," Asami then remembering what she had accomplished so far.

Before she transformed, the others stood a very small chance against Scorpiomon. Sure, she had done the least damage, but it was her assistance that made all the difference. She was also the one who ultimately defeated Tankmon after every other tactic had merely slowed them down. And even in the battle with Beelzemon, the girls barely stood a chance until she became her champion form and dealt a rather powerful blow to the demon.

"I have been rather helpful, haven't I?" Asami asked with a light smile as Akari nodded and replied, "I can't imagine the team working without you."

Asami gave a smile more like the kind normally seen from Akari and replied, "Thank you so much," before sighing, "Alright, I'll tell them, but in due time. I don't feel ready just yet."

Yumi smiled and felt like this made sense. And soon enough, the woman was fixing up Asami's torn dress, though she was merely trimming it to make it look more presentable seeing as Asami had thrown out the bottom portion. All the while, the rich girl was wearing some of Akari's clothes, specifically a pair of black pants and a blue T-shirt.

"I never thought inexpensive clothing could be so comfortable," Asami said with a smile while looking at herself in a mirror, "And I must say, this doesn't look half-bad."

"I think you look great," Akari replied with a big smile of her own when suddenly, she heard the sound of static coming from nearby.

Both girls blinked and turned toward a computer that Akari owned to notice it had turned itself off of sleep mode. What happened next was even stranger as suddenly, the image of a throne room appeared as the screen zoomed into the royal seat.

Sitting in this chair was a woman with six golden angel wings coming out of her back, two others attached to rings floating next to her head and two regular angel wings facing the floor. She was also clad in sky-blue armour. A battle mask with the heads of a chimera sculpted into the top covered her face. The top half of her hair was orange while the bottom half was blond, each colour having its own flowing ponytail. She had a blue shield attached to her left wrist with a golden unicorn emblem on it and held a golden lance in her right hand, both of which were covered by blue arm guards. The only spots the rest of her armour did not cover were her tummy and her feet, the latter of which had high-heel shoes that matched the armour.

The girls stared in stunned silence until the angel smiled and said, "Hello. I am Ophanimon, queen of the Digimon."

After a few more seconds of silence, Asami bowed her head and said, "A pleasure to make your-" only for the angel to add, "I am sorry that I could not speak to you at the moment. This is a merely a recording."

"Oh," Asami uttered as Akari felt a tad disappointed as well, Ophanimon adding, "It has come to my attention that you five have been told about the lead virus and how he plans to infect not only our world but yours as well. As such, I have no doubt in my mind that you five wish to come to our world and stop him."

Both girls blinked and nodded in unison. Were they always being watched by this woman? To the best of their knowledge, the only Digimon who had seen them and escaped back to his own world was Commandramon and judging by his actions, there was no doubt he was not a part of Ophanimon's army.

"As for how I knew," Ophanimon added, "see, you are not the only heroes protecting Earth from Digimon. I'm sure at least one of you has thought about the possibility of other cities dealing with the same thing, and if you were thinking it, you would be right."

Asami shrugged as Akari nodded and said, "That makes sense," as Ophanimon continued, "Every city on Earth is being terrorized by Digimon, most of which have been infected by the virus while some others choose to follow him out of fear. But rest assured, those who have been killed by the hands of the world's heroes are reprogrammed and given new life here in the Digital World."

"Oh my god, your theory was correct," Asami uttered as Akari beamed, feeling more than thrilled to have heard this news.

"For every city," Ophanimon explained, "with the help of my top Scientist, Datamon, I am able to send small cameras to see how things are going. Having witnessed you all best Beelzemon in combat and even come close to getting him on your side, I can safely say that you might actually be worthy of helping us in this battle.

Both girls smiled wide, already getting an idea of where this was going as the angel added, "We have tried tirelessly to stop this virus on our own while you humans protect your world, but it has proven too difficult for even us to handle. However, I have discovered that since you essentially defeated the virus' strongest Digimon, he has decided to hold back on attacking Tokyo as a means of preserving allies. As such, I feel it might be a good idea to bring you here, and I am certain you have been looking for a way to do so."

Both girls squealed with excitement as Ophanimon stated, "I am going to open up a portal to our world in Shinjuku Gyoen at eight PM your time. However, it is very unstable and will only remain open for ten minutes, so I recommend getting any last-minute preparations completed soon. Also, don't let anyone try to stop you because unfortunately, even we have barely enough power to make one of these."

Asami gasped at the sound of this as the angel said, "I'm sure you all have more questions to ask, but I have told you what is essential to understand at the moment. Any further questions can wait until you arrive."

With that, the screen turned off. Both Akari and Asami looked at each-other, Asami looking concerned. She had hoped to at least clear things up with her parents, but right now, the girls had very little time to prepare themselves. And at the same time, they knew that they were in no position to refuse Ophanimon's offer. After all, they wanted to help out more than anything.


	17. Chapter 17

Asami and Akari could not believe the news they had just heard. On one hand, this was great as they could finally go to the world where the Digimon lived and help them. But on the other hand, Asami still needed to clear things up with her parents and this did not seem like such an easy task especially after they demanded that she no longer see her friends.

However, those thoughts would have to wait as Akari's cellphone rang. The girl quickly answered it as Cho's voice came from the other line and said, "Akari, you'll never believe what I just saw on my computer."

Akari's eyes went wide as it seemed all of the girls had gotten this call. And the others had confirmed it by calling each-other. And this was really complicated for all of them.

Sure, Hazuki's parents may have approved of her being a hero, but she was not so sure they would allow her to enter an unknown world full of the very creatures she had been fighting. Cho's parents may have known her as a good fighter, but she had no idea how they would take the news of her fighting Digimon. And of course, Chise had spent so much of her life scared of everything and everyone. How could her mother possibly approve of this?

But of course, the biggest problem was that none of them felt like keeping this a secret. After all, if they did, their parents would discover they were gone and form search parties. The thought of them being in a world crawling with Digimon was enough reason for them to worry, but not knowing where the teens were would be even worse.

However, there was another problem. Since Ophanimon had sent her message to all of the girls' personal computers, she had also sent this message to a pink laptop on a desk that Asami never used for anything else. And since she stormed out of her room, her parents had remained there as they uncertain of what to do seeing as their daughter had never expressed anger or frustration toward them before.

After hearing the message, though, they snapped out of their trance as Anna gasped, "Oh no!" Akihiko taking a deep breath and sighing, "Now, now, honey, I'm pretty sure that message was only relayed to this computer. I'm sure wherever she is, she hasn't seen it yet."

Suddenly, a ringing came from the home telephone as a maid answered it and said, "Hello, Oshiro residence," the woman nodding before saying, "Okay, I'll go get them."

Akihiko and Anna entered the area as the maid smiled and said, "Oh, good, I was just about to look for you. It's Asami."

With that, Akihiko wasted no time running toward the phone an answering it with panic in his expression as he exclaimed, "Asami, where are you!? We've been wrought with worry!"

"I'm sorry," Asami replied with a sigh, "I admit that I should not have yelled at you like that and said those horrible things."

Akihiko had put the phone on speaker so Anna could hear as the woman smiled and replied, "Oh, honey, we forgive you. We're just happy that you're okay. But as your father asked, where are you?"

"I'm at Akari's residence right now," Asami replied as the parents breathed a sigh of relief, Akihiko replying, "That's wonderful honey. We've been thinking and we admit that it was wrong to expect you to just stop seeing your friends."

"Do you mean that?" Asami asked as Anna replied, "Yes, we mean every word of it. They are nice people and you seem very happy when you are with them. We just don't want you fighting alongside them anymore, is all."

"About that," Asami replied, "look, ever since I joined the team, I feel like I have contributed a lot. The first time I transformed, they would have all died if I hadn't joined in."

The rich girl then turned to Akari who nodded and replied, "That's true," Asami nodding and adding, "Then there was the time those tank-like creatures attacked. I was the one who dealt the final blow to one of them. Even when that powerful demon attacked us yesterday, I helped weaken him."

Akihiko blinked and asked, "Pardon me, but are you the one who becomes the bird with the tribal clothes?" Asami nodding and replying, "Yes. I was surprised too."

Anna and Akihiko were not sure what to say to this as Asami added, "I'm not your little girl anymore, okay? I feel that I am old enough to make these decisions. I know I am putting my life at risk and I know that puts a heavy burden on you, especially when one of the heroes, that bunny girl, died in the line of battle a few weeks ago. But I really hope you can accept this choice I have made."

With that, the two parents turned to one-another for a few seconds. They remained that way for a while as Asami bit her lip and expected the worst. However, the two eventually came to an agreement and nodded at one-another.

"Honey, there is something we should probably tell you," Akihiko said, the man gulping nervously and adding, "After you left, this angel or whoever she was appeared on your laptop-"

"Oh no, you saw it too!?" Asami exclaimed as Anna and Akihiko blinked, Anna shrugging and saying, "Well, it does stand to reason that a recording would go out to all five heroes, wouldn't it?"

"Well, that saves us trouble," Akihiko replied with a light chuckle, Asami asking, "What do you mean, Father?"

"It does seem like you know what you are doing," Akihiko replied as Asami's eyes widened, a big open-mouth smile forming as the man added, "so we are permitting you to go to this, um, what did she call it?"

"Digital World, I believe," Anna replied as Akihiko nodded and stated, "Yes, but before you go, we have something we want to give you. Could you wait for us at Akari's residence?"

Asami beamed bright and replied, "Certainly," before giving the address and saying a happy goodbye. With that, the girl hung up as she and Akari squealed and gave each-other a tight embrace. Asami never saw herself as the type to get that excited about something, let alone something so dangerous, but she was simply ecstatic that her parents were trusting her with such a big task.

However, the moment ended when Akari noticed her mother standing there and asking, "So, how did it go?"

"It was fantastic," Asami replied with a soft smile, "Thank you for helping me out with that. Not only did Mother and Father agree to let me keep fighting, but they even gave me permission to go with the others into the Digital World to help stop the virus."

"What?" Yumi asked with a look of confusion in her eyes as Akari replied, "That's right. We got a message from the queen of the Digimon. She's going to open a portal to her world so we can stop that virus from infecting us."

Yumi was not even sure how to react to this. Sure, she knew Akari was capable of fighting the Digimon, but she and her friends had only fought one at a time save for the one time they fought two. If they went to the Digital World, they would be swamped by those very beings. They could very well be attacked at any moment and not get a wink of sleep.

With that in mind, Yumi asked, "Akari, come downstairs," the redhead nodding and following her mother before telling Asami to wait there for her.

After coming downstairs, Yumi took her into the living room where Kenta was resting and watching Baseball. The man rose an eyebrow when Yumi said, "Turn that off, honey."

Kenta nodded and did so before asking, "Is something wrong?" Akari's eyes going wide. Was this going where she thought it was going?

"Akari, tell him," Yumi said as the girl nodded and explained, "Dad, I got a message on my computer from a Digimon, the queen to be exact."

"Was it a death threat?" Kenta asked as the girl shook her head and replied, "She's one of the few who hasn't been infected."

"Oh, so she's on our side," the man replied as Akari nodded and said, "Anyway, she wants my friends and I to go to her world. She feels like we're the only heroes who can help fight the virus and stop him from infecting the planet and killing everyone."

Kenta simply laughed and replied, "Well, that's my girl! I never would have expected anyone to say that about you!" Yumi glaring at the man and retorting, "So you're perfectly fine with this!?"

Kenta blinked as Akari looked down, whimpering, "You don't want me to go, do you?"

Yumi turned and could see the look in Akari's eyes. The woman let out a sigh and knelt down, resting her hands on the girl's shoulder and saying, "I'm not going to try to stop you, okay? But you're right, I really don't want you to go."

Akari looked doubtful until her mother added, "I was able to at least accept the fact that you're fighting these Digimon, but I never thought it would go this far. But at the same time, I know this is something you really need to do. "

Kenta and Akari were both wide-eyed as tears trickled down Yumi's cheeks as a small smile formed, Akari giving her mother a big smile as the two shared a tight embrace. Kenta simply scratched his head as Yumi said, "Promise me you'll come back in one piece."

Akari nodded and replied, "I should be okay. I'm not alone, remember?" Yumi replying, "I know you're not."

Hazuki's parents reacted in a similar manner to that of Yumi. They were worried about the very idea of their daughter going somewhere dangerous, especially now that she was finally happy to go to school again. But even so, Hazuki's parents did seem more lenient than most and they did not wish for a horrible virus to infect the entire world. And as such, they gave her their full support in the matter.

All the while, Chise was talking on the phone with Cho about this as she uttered, "But what can I do? I can't just leave somewhere without telling Mommy where I am? But she'd never believe I was doing something like this."

Cho took a deep breath and replied, "I know what you're going through. I'm afraid of how my parents will react too, but we're talking about the lives of millions here. That's much more important than keeping your mom from worrying about you."

Chise bit her lip and trembled for a bit before gulping and putting on a serious expression. Cho was right. If Chise did not go through with this, the team would be one member short and considering how difficult these last few battles had been, one teammate could very well make all the difference.

With that in mind, she gave Cho a quick thanks before hanging up. But while she headed to the living room to confront her mother about this, she started to tremble while her lip quivered a bit. Could she really go through with this?

Yae was busy doing some paperwork when Chise slowly approached her. Her look of confidence slowly faded and became one of fear. The blond had never been nervous around her mother even back when she would frequently lie and say she would make friends. Until she met Akari and the others, Yae was the only one she did not stutter around.

The woman turned to her and smiled, saying, "Hello, Chise," before noticing the girl's nervous expression as she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Um," Chise murmured while sweat poured down her face, "W-W-Well..."

Yae blinked and asked, "What's going on? You've never been nervous around me before," Chise biting her lip as the woman nodded and smirked, asking, "It's a boy, isn't it?"

Chise pursed her lips and shook her head as Yae asked, "Is it a girl? You know, sweetie, if you're into other girls, that is nothing to be ashamed of."

"N-No, that's not i-i-it," Chise uttered, her cheeks turning bright pink at the mere mention of that as Yae sighed, "Chise, no matter what you tell me, I will always love you. Just please tell me what's troubling you."

"W-Well..." Chise replied before taking a deep breath and shaking her head. With that, she finally calmed down before asking, "Mom, you know those heroes who have been appearing on the news, the ones who fight those Digimon creatures?"

"Oh, yes, everyone knows who they are," Yae replied, "If this has anything to do with your friend, Akari, being one, everyone already knows about that too. It was in the paper this morning, and rest assured, I am still okay with you hanging out with her granted you're not endangering yourself by doing so."

"It's not that," Chise replied, "and in a way, I kind of am."

Yae rose an eyebrow as the blond uttered, "See, I know who the other four girls who fight with her are."

"Oh, that's interesting," Yae replied, "You don't need to tell me if it's a big secret. I may be your mother, but I grew up on superhero stories too. I understand how important secret identities are."

"Okay, then I'll only tell you one of them," Chise replied, "It's me."

Yae's eyes went wide as she had no idea how to respond to this. It was not like Chise to lie or joke about things like this, but at the same time, how could possibly believe that?

However, Chise did have proof as she pulled out her yellow diamond and explained, "I transform with the help of this diamond. I'm the one with the orange shell."

"Oh my," Yae replied with a look of disbelief, "I guess that would explain why that girl had glasses like yours, but are you really the one who gave that demon a bloody nose yesterday?"

Chise gulped and uttered, "Y-Yeah, that was me."

However, rather than looking mortified or refusing to believe it, Yae simply smiled and said, "Wow, I never would have imagined you taking on something like that."

"My new friends give me courage," Chise stated, "When I fight the Digimon, I don't just fight to protect Tokyo. I also fight to protect them just like I know they would protect me. They give me a reason to do my absolute best."

Chise smiled after saying this. She remembered how Cho had jumped in the way of Beelzemon's bullet and taken it for her. She also remembered how it was thanks to her that they were able to stop the giant mole that attacked when the blond first transformed. She really had helped them just as much as they had helped her.

"You've grown up so much," Yae said before giving her daughter a hug as Chise sighed, "You might not approve of what I'm about to say next," the blond's mother now even more curious.

Chise proceeded to explain everything regarding Ophanimon and her message. And it was as she had suspected. Now Yae was worried. Chise had never even thought about leaving Tokyo, let alone without her mother there to keep her company. This was a lot to take in.

However, Yae was not the over-protective type and from what she had seen and heard, she had confidence in her daughter. As such, she took a deep breath and rested her hands on the blond's shoulders, asking, "Can you promise me that you'll be okay?"

"No, I don't think I can," Chise uttered, "In fact, where I'm going I know is likely to be really dangerous. I'll be fighting more Digimon at once and may even have to fight ones more powerful than the ones I've fought so far."

Yae nodded as Chise added, "But with Cho, Akari, Hazuki and Asami there, I know I can save the world from that horrible virus."

"So those are the other three," Yae replied as Chise pursed her lip, the woman sighing, "It's okay, honey. I won't tell anyone. But before you go, I have to give you something."

Chise blinked as Yae walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a locket shaped like a circle with a yin yang symbol painted on the front. She then handed it over to Chise and explained, "I was saving this for your birthday, but this might help motivate you even more."

The blond stared at it before opening it up, her eyes widening. In it was a photo of her at the age of four. Yae stood to the left while Chise herself was being held up on the shoulders of a short man with green hair and a bit of belly. This was her father, a man named Genma.

Chise stared at the photo for a while as Yae patted her on the shoulder and said, "I'm sure if he could see you now, he's be just as proud of you as I am right now," Chise closing the locket as Yae attached a chain to it and placed it around her daughter's neck.

"Now go out there and save the world," Yae said as Chise nodded, giving her mother one last hug before taking her leave.

Cho had also explained things to her parents during this time. At first they thought she was just making it up but ultimately, it did make sense that she would be the boxer considering how tough she was. Surprisingly, they were almost as supportive as Yae was for Chise. Cho's father had full confidence in Cho while even her mother seemed fully confident.

The only thing they did not like was that Cho would be skipping school until she got back, but they had a feeling she could make up for it easily considering how smart she had become ever since Akari came into her life. All-in-all, the biggest challenge had been taken care of and the girls were now ready to leave.

But before Asami could go, there was the matter of her parents paying her a visit at Akari's house. When they arrived, Anna blinked and asked, "My word, what are you wearing?" the rich girl giggling nervously and replying, "Well, I ripped my dress earlier, so I am simply wearing this until Akari's mother fixes it."

"It looks rather nice on her, doesn't it, Anna?" Akihiko asked as the woman nodded and replied, "Now that you mention it..."

The father then cleared his throat and said, "Asami, come outside, please. We would like to show you something," the silver-haired girl nodding as she followed them out of the house.

Curiosity struck when she saw that her parents had brought a white box with them. Akihiko took hold of the lid and said, "I never dreamed that we would ever consider giving these to you, but a dress simply isn't appropriate for a long, dangerous adventure. So we figured this old family heirloom might be more appropriate."

Asami's eyes sparkled when the man opened the box to reveal a fancy safari explorer outfit. It contained an explorer's hat, the shiniest top for such a purpose, a dazzling pair of pants and even a stunning white shirt and tie to go underneath.

"I know this is not something you would normally wear, but-" Akihiko stated only for Asami to let down a light tear, sniffing, "I love it! Thank you so much!"

With that, all three family members shared a hug while Akari watched this from the entrance with a big smile. She felt it was better to set off with a positive attitude. It helped build confidence, or at least that was what Akari thought.

And soon enough, seven-fifty came around as all five girls arrived at a nice park known as Shinjuku Gyoen. Their parents had come with them to see them off as the girls used their remaining ten minutes to say anything they felt they needed to. After all, there was no telling when they would return if they managed to do so. After all, they were entering unbelievably dangerous territory.

And soon enough, eight came as a big portal opened up in front of the girls. The parents all bowed their heads as Akihiko let down tears and exclaimed, "Be careful, Asami!" Anna adding, "And remember, give that virus the old one-two!" both Akihiko and Asami surprised to hear Anna of all people say that.

"Show em just how tough you are, sweetie!" Kenichi exclaimed, Sakura adding, "You're both tough and smart, the best combination there is! Those monsters won't stand a chance!"

Cho gave them thumbs up and smirked while Chise and Yae simply bowed to one-another. They felt they had already said enough earlier.

Hazuki's parents gave her a water bottle with twice as much blood as usual while her father said, "We figured since you're gonna be gone for quite some time, you might need more," her mother adding, "We wish we could fill the entire thing up, but that might not be such a good idea."

Hazuki simply rolled her eyes, gave them a hug and said, "You're the best."

Akari simply gave her parents a big smile as Yumi stated, "Remember, honey, be careful. Don't over-exert yourself."

Kenta nodded and added, "Also, if one of those Digi things seems friendly, make sure it actually is before trusting it."

Yumi simply gave him an awkward stared as he asked, "What? That sounds perfectly logical."

Before the girls could enter the portal, though, they noticed Juri standing nearby with her camera rolling as she said, "Well, we now know what the regular forms of Tokyo's heroes look like as all five are ready to embark on a dangerous mission into the land of the Digimon who have been attacking us."

The woman then turned to the girl and added, "You five are the bravest people I have ever met. Best of luck to you all on your journey."

This news was currently being broadcast not only across Tokyo but all around the world. Fellow heroes were watching this report right now, parts of them wishing they could find the courage and time to do this themselves and help stop the virus that was planning on infecting all of mankind. But one thing was for certain: the girls had the support of the entire world and they were not going to let them down without a fight.

With all of that out of the way, the girls bowed their heads to their parents one last time and entered the portal. And just as Ophanimon had predicted, the portal closed shortly afterwards. Needless to say, the parents were a bit worried but at the same time, they knew they had to have faith in their daughters.


	18. Chapter 18

The Digital World was a vast land, some parts beautiful and others grotesque, but it was certainly diverse. There were forests, mountain plains, deserts and even areas where it always snowed. There were places where magma and volcanoes ruled, graveyards and even areas made purely for fun. The Digital World was certainly a very diverse place.

But right now, our story takes place in a beautiful kingdom. The major standout was a big castle made entirely of diamond, but there were plenty of other features to admire. Green grass and beautiful flowers grew all year round and the village had many nice houses.

Recently, some areas could have used some work. Some houses had been damaged by the virus' armies, some even destroyed completely. But the castle remained untouched.

During this time, a ritual was being held in the village square while dark-green goblin was beating a club against a drum. A big portal was also in front of him while Ophanimon and many other Digimon were gathered around. And soon enough, the portal started to disorient itself when five familiar figures emerged.

However, their entrance was not a completely graceful one as a strange force pushed them forward and causing them to fall flat on their chests. As the girls slowly got up and groaned, their eyes widened when they saw the goblin standing before them and breathing heavily.

He quickly sported a fine composure before saying, "Hello, heroes of Tokyo. I am Shamanmon and I am the one who made the portal. Welcome to Data Village."

Akari's eyes sparkled at the sight of all the Digimon around them. She would have been scared if it was not clear that all of them were on the side of good.

Ophanimon smiled at the five as Asami quickly gave the angel a curtsey and said, "A pleasure to meet you in person, your majesty," one Digimon whispering, "She's so polite," the others quickly following suit and giving a bow.

However, while bowing with the others, Chise was also trembling as she looked around at all the strange creatures before her. How did she know they would not try to kill her at any moment.

Ophanimon noticed this and gave the blond a light smile before bending down and saying, "At ease, child. None of the Digimon here have been infected. You are perfectly fine."

Chise took a deep breath but still felt nervous beyond compare, especially since she was in the presence of royalty. Cho, all the while, simply gave the blond a grin as Chise calmed down a little bit. It would still likely take her a while to truly get used to this, though.

"Attention, citizens of Data Village!" Ophanimon exclaimed as the Digimon all gave her their undivided attention, "After all this time, I think we might have finally found the key to deleting that horrible virus from our world! Give a warm welcome to our new soldiers, Akari, Cho, Chise, Hazuki and Asami!"

The villagers all clapped and cheered as loud as they could while Chise blushed even brighter, Cho simply flexing her muscles with a proud grin on her face. Hazuki smiled and waved as she was not used to having so much positive attention. Asami merely curtsied more to her adoring public while Akari held her hands behind her back and gave her usual warm smile. Needless to say, the girls all felt more important than they had ever felt before.

Ophanimon turned to an angelic knight next to her and said, "Magnaangemon, escort them to the castle. I'll join you in a few minutes," the girls staring in confusion as the knight bowed to the queen and said, "Come with me, ladies."

While walking toward the castle, the girls looked around at the village. It looked just like something out of medieval times only the people were all creatures. Chise was still frightened beyond compare at the sight of so many of these beings. There were others like the goblin who had summoned them along with talking bugs and wolves.

But at the same time, there were plenty of cute creatures like bear cubs, rabbits, monkeys and dogs. In fact, Chise started to calm down when a small hamster with wings walked over to her and said, "Wow, your eyes look really cool."

Chise blinked and giggled, blushing brightly as she explained, "Oh no, these are glasses. I wear them over my eyes. I can't see without them."

"Why not?" the hamster asked with concern as she replied, "I'm near-sighted, but I'm okay with that."

Cho placed a hand on Chise's shoulder and said, "Come on, this angel guy's not waiting around for us," only for Magnaangemon to reply, "Oh no, you can take some time to admire the village. Just don't take longer than five minutes. Ophanimon wants you in the castle within that time."

"Okay, thank you sir," Akari replied with a big smile as the girls looked around at all the Digimon. Needless to say, since the rookies were the most interested in meeting them as most of them were still technically children.

Cho showed off her boxing skills to some of them as a lizard wearing wolf fur said, "So you can fight even without your powers?" the girl replying, "Yeah. I'm gonna become a professional wrestler someday."

"Bet you can't take me!" a seal-like creature remarked as Cho held up her fists and asked, "Wanna bet?"

Hazuki was seated next to a grey rabbit with sharp claws who sighed, "The others are afraid of me because of my appearance. They see my claws and the scars over my eyes and think I'm some vicious killer, so I give them a reason to keep believing it."

Hazuki chuckled and replied, "I used to think like that too, but I soon realized that making friends feels much better, and to have friends, you must be a friend. Give them a reason to respect you, not fear you, little Gazimon."

The rabbit looked up at the goth and said, "You know what? I think I might just try that," a smile forming on his face.

Asami was simply being admired by everyone as she was still yet to change into the explorer clothes her father had given her. Chise was also enjoying herself now as all the cute Digimon wanted to be friends with her.

However, she just about panicked when she saw a frog with orange fur on its back and razor sharp teeth approach her. She was just about to start trembling when he flashed a cute smile and said, "Hi, I'm Gizamon."

Chise blinked and returned the smile before saying, "It's very nice to meet you," the girl surprised that she had not even stuttered. Perhaps she had gotten more mature these last few weeks.

Akari, on the other hand, had no problem with any of the Digimon. She even felt comfortable around the various champion level Digimon who wanted to meet her. After all, she knew they were all on the side of good, so she had no reason to fear even the most intimidating of Digimon.

Once five minutes was up, the girls headed to the castle while the rookies waved, most of them telling them to come back and play with them later. And the five girls all waved back while hoping they could find the time to do so. To the best of their knowledge, Ophanimon was likely planning to send them off right away.

Once inside the castle, the girls looked around with wonder and awe. The interior was even more beautiful than the exterior, and that was saying a lot considering the material that had been used to make it. And soon enough, they were led to the throne room where Ophanimon had returned not too long ago, the queen smiling upon seeing them.

"I would like to thank you all for taking the time to come here," Ophanimon said, "I know this much be difficult, especially for you, Akari. I know how much your attendance in school means to you."

"Yes, that's true," Akari replied with a big smile, "but as long as it's to save the world, I'll sacrifice a whole year if I have to."

"You really are a good kid," Ophanimon replied as Cho stated, "Yeah, yeah, that's all well and good, but you said you'd answer any questions that we have, and we still have a lot that need to be explained."

"How dare you speak that way to the queen!?" Magnaangemon retorted only for Ophanimon to hold up her hand and say, "Stand down. She has all the right to react that way, because I have thrown these girls into all of this without any warning. They deserve to know everything."

"Thank you," Akari replied with a bow of her head before asking, "It's good to know we're not the only heroes, but why did you choose us specifically? None of us seemed like the right candidates and yet you chose us."

Cho nodded and replied, "Not to mention it seems a little convenient that you picked both Akari and I for this. I'm sure the odds of either of us ending up with a different partner would have been a lot higher, not that we're complaining."

Ophanimon nodded and replied, "A fair question and one I am certain everyone would like to know. For most heroes, I simply chose the ones I felt would have the most passion and drive. Fukuko, for instance, showed a great deal of promise back in her hometown, but when she moved to Tokyo, I simply replaced her there and felt no need to give anyone else powers as Tokyo already had a saviour."

"So what was the deal with us?" Asami asked as Cho added, "Did you know Fukuko was going to die?"

"Of course not," Ophanimon remarked, "No one could have predicted that. No, the reason I chose you two was for two reasons. Not only did you know Fukuko's secret but both of you were willing to keep it a secret. As such, I felt like I could trust you with these powers."

"So that's why you chose me too?" Chise asked with a disappointed look on her face, "It wasn't because you saw potential in me?"

Magnaangemon gulped at the sight of her looking so down as the others seemed to share her feelings as Ophanimon replied, "Oh no, I had faith that you would go on to do great things if you put your minds to it. But knowing I could trust you with those powers was the first step."

The girls were not sure if that was really an uplifting answer or not as Hazuki asked, "But what about me? I only knew about the others because of an ability given to me by my new form."

"Yeah, speaking of which," Cho added, "is the key to transforming really based on one's desire to protect the innocent?"

Ophanimon nodded and replied, "Yes, choosing heroism above all else is indeed the key to transforming for the first time. But Hazuki, you are a different case as I actually didn't pick you."

"You didn't?" Hazuki asked as the angel nodded and replied, "Unfortunately, this is something that happened in many other cities and towns at the same time it happened to you. Something one of my spies told me was that in order to combat my diamonds and wipe out the heroes, the virus decided to create his own versions, the black diamonds. He specifically chose girls whose hatred toward people was unmatched by anyone else and he also allowed them to transform whenever they wanted without having to meet any requirements."

"So I was chosen for the soul purpose of killing the others?" Hazuki asked with her eyes wide open as Ophanimon nodded and replied, "It's a good thing you learned your lesson. There were a few others who had to be killed for the sake of everyone else's safety."

Akari gasped as Hazuki looked down only for Cho to say, "Hey, look on the bright side. If the virus hadn't chosen you to have that diamond, we wouldn't have an awesome friend like you on our side. If anything, he's an idiot for even trying such a thing."

The goth smiled lightly and replied, "Yeah. Serves him right," as Chise nodded and added, "Yeah, I'm not as scared of vampires as I used to be thanks to you."

"That actually clears up a lot," Asami stated, "though there is one thing I have to ask. See, whenever any of us was able to transform, a creature with 'mon' at the end of its name appeared before us in our minds. Do our diamonds have Digimon living in them?"

Ophanimon nodded and replied, "Yes. See, our rookie level Digimon are not strong enough to help out when the virus sends his soldiers to attack us, so a lot of them volunteer to act as heroes. So I infuse each one's spirit with a diamond and have it transported to your world while you sleep."

"So it is their choice?" Cho asked, "You're not just picking them at random?" the angel replying, "Oh, of course not. That would be mean," the blue-haired girl nodding in understanding.

"There's something else that's been bothering me," Akari uttered, "The first time I became my ultimate level, my spirit, Gatomon told me that if I ever wish to take on that form under dire circumstances, it would happen. And yet ever since that first time, it's been hard for me to become that form."

"Oh yes, that," Ophanimon replied, "It's not as complicated as you might think. The truth is, ultimate forms require much more energy to use, so sometimes the situation has to be more dire than if a rookie became a champion."

"Oh, okay," Akari replied with a light smile, "That's good to know. Now I know when to use it."

"There's only one more thing I want to ask," Cho said as the others looked at her. The blue-haired girl took a deep breath and added, "You said when Digimon die, they come back her to be reformatted, right? Does that mean Fukuko might come back?"

"Unfortunately, no," Ophanimon replied, "Her spirit Digimon was revived, but Fukuko was a human, meaning she was not created in the Digital World. I hate to tell you this, but your friend is never coming back."

Akari's eyes were wide as she and Cho looked down. The other three may not have known her, but they could at least sympathize with the pain of losing someone close to them, especially Chise who had lost her father when she was nine. Although at the very least, Akari had certainly made the right decision when she chose not to kill Hazuki when she had the chance.

"Are there any more questions?" Ophanimon asked as the girls shook their heads, Akari simply replacing her depressed look with a happier one and replying, "No, we're fine. You've cleared a lot of things up for us."

"That's good to know," Ophanimon replied, "Now, I will admit I'd prefer it if we all set off early for the virus' home, but even in our world, it is getting rather late. Once four hours are up, night will fill the sky, so I think it would be best if we start fresh tomorrow morning."

The girls' spirits lifted a little bit as they knew this meant they could enjoy Data village just a little bit longer. However, they were curious as to where the angel was coming from. It certainly did not look like night would be coming anytime soon in the Digital World, but even in video games, night time could exist.

Even so, the girls decided to interact with the Digimon more while Magnaangemon looked onward along with Ophanimon and asked, "Are you sending them off on their own or is someone going to help them on their quest? They may have been strong enough to best Beelzemon together, but in this world, it is possible for them to be split up under various circumstances."

"Of course," Ophanimon replied, "I certainly can't send the entire army. If the virus sends more soldiers after us, we'll need at least our strongest allies to stay here. That's why I'm going to send one of our champions to help them out."

"I think I know which one you mean," the male angel replied, "the one with power almost equal to that of an ultimate, right?"

"Exactly," Ophanimon replied with a light smile, "I don't think there's anyone else I can trust with this task."

The male angel nodded and retreated back to his quarters as Ophanimon watched Akari while thinking, 'You've done a great job working with my daughter, Akari. Keep it up and one day, you both can reach your full potential.'

And for the next four hours, the girls decided to clear their minds of the battles yet to come. After all, if they allowed themselves to be discouraged, they may end up regretting their decision to go through with this. Though at the same time, they also hoped their parents would be able to sleep soundly tonight. Having their daughters in another world with no way to check up on them was rather alarming, after all.

Once the four hours were up, the girls were shocked to see the sky quite literally become dark in the blink of an eye. It was like a screen saver. There was no fade-out or anything. The night sky just instantly replaced the bright sunny one.

And with that, the five were given their own room to share for the night. Of course, with it being the guest room in a castle, it was naturally very fancy with quite possibly one of the fanciest beds ones could ever lay eyes upon.

"Oh my god," Asami said when pressing down on the cushion, "This is even softer than mine."

Stars then formed on her eyes as she sighed, "I think I might just bargain for it," Cho shaking her head in disbelief.

Chise, all the while, was trembling nervously while the other girls were looking over the fancy pyjamas provided for them. Hazuki noticed this and asked, "What's up?"

"W-Well," Chise uttered, "I-I-I've never undressed i-in f-f-front of a-anyone b-b-before."

Cho's eyes widened as this seemed serious. Chise had never stuttered this much in a single sentence before. However, her look of concern turned into a smirk as she walked over and said, "Come on, girl, if you're gonna face all of your fears, you have to take every opportunity given to you."

Chise was now whimpering as Cho rolled her eyes and sighed, "Look, it's just us girls here. There are no guys present. It's okay," Akari nodding and saying, "Cho's right. You're safe to undress here," a sweet smile on her face.

Chise took a deep breath and uttered, "O-Okay, but I'm t-turning a-a-around," the others shrugging and deciding to accept that.

With that, Chise quickly stripped down and got dressed into her pyjamas as quickly as possible. Shockingly, she was able to change as fast as she could run. However, that did not stop Cho from jokingly whistling at her as the blond blushed bright.

However, she felt a little more comfortable as she turned and said, "Done," before noticing the others girls had only just started. The blond wanted to look away, yet strangely enough, she did not. Sure, she was still shaking all over, but it was as Akari said. Chise needed to get over at least the majority of her fears, especially now that she had a social life.

Strangely enough, though, she found herself glancing at Cho quite a few times and had no idea why. Whatever it case, it was probably not important.

"There, was that so hard?" Cho asked once the rest of the girls were dressed for the night.

Chise forced a weak smile and uttered "A-Actually, it wasn't," before walking over to her bed and getting onto it, pulling the covers over her. She no longer wanted to partake in this conversation.

The others laughed in response before getting into bed themselves. Akari had a big smile on her face as she said, "Well, we were planning on having a sleepover. I guess this is kind of like one."

"Indeed," Asami replied, "but I still look forward to the one we were planning to have in your humble abode. Then we might be in good enough spirits to have one of those pillow fights I've heard so much about."

"Yeah, right now, I don't think we could afford to have one," Cho replied, "We need as much rest as we can get, but when we do, I will be the pillow queen!"

Chise simply looked down and asked, "But what if we don't all make it back?" the others turning to her and nodding. They had to admit, she had a point. After all, this was not a vacation they were going on. They were going to be fighting infected Digimon, a lot of them. There could very well be times where they would have to take on five or even twenty Digimon at once. Two had already proven to be really difficult.

However, of all the girls, Cho put on a warm smile and said, "Don't worry, Chise. I know we can do this," as the blond returned the smile and nodded.

With that, the girls decided to call it a night as they dozed off into a deep sleep. It was as Cho had said. They needed all the rest they could get and they were going to get it right now. For all they knew, this could very well be the last time they would sleep in an actual bed.

The following morning, everyone woke up bright and early, or at least by Digital World Time. In Tokyo, it was actually nine right now. But even so, the girls had certainly had a good sleep and were now fully dressed for the day.

Hazuki took a tiny sip from her bottle and sealed the lid tight. She then took a deep breath and thought, 'Okay, this is going to last you at least a couple of weeks. You can do it.'

All the while, Asami was now dressed in her new explorer clothes as she looked at herself in a mirror. The rich girl spun around and exclaimed, "Ooh la la! I look positively divine! I bet none of the world's most famous explorers look nearly as lovely as I."

Cho simply rolled her eyes and sighed, "Once you're done flirting with yourself, we should probably get a move-on," Asami sticking her tongue out at the blue-haired girl.

Chise had a tad less trouble getting changed after having done it once with the others, but she was still a little afraid. After all, some fears took time to overcome. However, when Akari and Cho gave her confident smiles, she felt a tad more at ease. For some reason, she always seemed to feel more confident around Cho.

Before the group could leave, Ophanimon had prepared a special breakfast for them. There was a fruit salad, perfectly toasted bread with a wide assortment of spreads to choose from, fancy cheese omelets and all sorts of other wonderful things to choose from. The girls were rather surprised that Digimon ate the same kind of food they did.

While not quite as nice as what Asami would have gotten in her mansion, it was still very fancy and, like the beds, was likely to be the last time in a while that the girls would be able to enjoy such a luxury. As such, the girls enjoyed every bit of it.

And with breakfast out of the way, the group was ready to set off while all of the Digimon in the village had lined up to see them off. The rookies all waved, hoping the girls would one day return while the champions gave them their full support. The ultimate and mega Digimon who lived in the castle all bowed their heads in respect while the girls bowed back, save for Asami who gave a curtsey.

"Thank you so much for taking on this task," Ophanimon said with a big smile, "I truly feel you girls have what it takes to stop that virus. But just in case, I have chosen the kingdom's strongest champion to help you on your journey."

The girls were now very interested as the angel summoned the Digimon in question to her side. Cho's eyes sparkled while the others certainly felt confident with someone like this by their side.

This Digimon was a humanoid lion with light-brown fur and a yellow mane. On his left arm he wore a spiked collar around his knuckles and three arm bands near his wrist. He also sported a pair of black pants and had a short sword strapped to his back.

"It is an honour to fight alongside you," the lion said while bending down on one knee and bowing to the girls, "I am Leomon."

Chise's confidence seemed to increase as Cho exclaimed, "Oh my god, you are the coolest Digimon I have ever seen! You must work out ten hours a day at least!"

The lion simply let down a light sweat drop as Ophanimon said, "One last thing before you go."

With that, she had some of the royal soldiers bring out handbags for the girls as she added, "Your journey will be a long one. As such, you are likely going to need something to carry valuable items such as food."

Asami opened up hers to notice her dress was in it as the angel added, "We simply could not have you leave that behind, now, could we?"

Asami let down light tears and sniffed, "Thank you ever so much," before bowing her head for a change.

All-in-all, everything was set as the girls set off on their journey with their new companion, Leomon, by their side. It would be a long and dangerous journey, but they were confident that they could get through this.


	19. Chapter 19

Today was the start of something grand as the girls had embarked on their journey to save both the Digital World and the human world. With Leomon as their guide, they were certain that they could get through this as they entered a forest.

"Now, I'll say something that will help ease your minds," Leomon explained while walking at the front of the group, "The first few locations we go to won't be too bad. Luckily, that virus had not gotten powerful enough to infect this quarter of the Digital World, so we're likely going to run into a few soldiers he has sent out and nothing more."

"So this journey won't be as dangerous as we thought it would be," Chise replied as the lion replied, "Yes, but again, this is only for the first little while. There will come a time when the enemies will come in higher numbers, so don't let your guards down."

While Akari, Cho, Chise and Hazuki all nodded in agreement, they suddenly noticed Asami was taking photos with her cellphone. Her eyes were sparkling as she exclaimed, "Wow, so this is what a forest is like! I've seen them so much on TV, but this is my first time being in one!"

She then noticed a family of green worm-like beings walking around as she took a quick picture of them. Leomon slapped his forehead and sighed, "Asami, I would like to remind you that this is not a vacation. Control yourself."

"Yeah, I hate to sound like a killjoy, but you were much more serious about this before," Cho added while Asami let out a sigh and replied, "Okay, sorry, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

While Asami was taking this all far too well, Chise's fear seemed to return as her eyes darted around. Like the rich girl, the blond had never been in a forest before as she had always been afraid of them. Sure, her father had tried to take her camping when he was still alive, but she had never agreed to it. A part of her had regretted that for years.

However, she quickly calmed down when Cho rested a hand on her shoulder and sighed, "Chise, you're fine," Leomon now unsure of whether or not these girls really would be able to handle this dangerous task.

The lion then proceeded to explain, "We will be walking for a while, but by evening time, we should reach a place called Primary Village. Of all the places in the Digital World, it is the absolute safest."

"Why is that?" Akari asked as the lion replied, "See, Primary Village is where baby Digimon are born raised, kind of like our version of a daycare centre. See, with the infected Digimon being as dangerous as they are, parents send their newly-hatched eggs there to be hatched. Once that's done, the babies are then raised by the village's caretaker until they've grown into rookies and are therefor able to fend for themselves."

"So Digimon start off as eggs?" Hazuki asked, "Even mammals?" Leomon nodding and replying, "That's right. Even I hatched from an egg."

Cho snickered lightly at the thought of a baby lion curled up inside an egg when she noticed a certain pair of eyes glaring at her. The blue-haired girl simply struck a soldier-like pose while trying her hardest to keep a straight face.

"That's fascinating," Asami said with wonder in her eyes, "but that still does not explain why the infected Digimon would leave it alone."

"Well, as you already know, the virus uses any Digimon he can get his hands on to attack your world," Leomon explained, "My theory is that he keeps the Digimon alive in the hopes that he can one day infect a few of them when they reach their champion levels. I'm not really sure if this is the case, but it makes the most sense."

"I don't know how to feel about that," Hazuki uttered, "It's nice that the virus allows them to live long enough to experience a happy childhood, but to rob them of their teen and adult years seems really unfair."

"You are right about that," Leomon replied, "But rest assured. As I already explained, his power is not yet high enough to infect this quarter of the Digital World. The reason he sends his soldiers here is not to destroy those who oppose him but to capture them and bring them to the locations that he controls, so it is possible for the Digimon to be saved."

"So there is an upside," Akari replied with a big smile, "It's good to know such places exist."

While the group carried on, Cho realized something as she looked around at all the fruit growing on the trees. With this in mind, she ran over to one and started to climb it.

"What are you doing now!?" Leomon snapped as Cho stated, "I'm doing something useful. We're gonna need food for this journey, right?"

The lion nodded and replied, "That is a good point," while Cho proceeded to pick some fruit off the trees and stuff it in her bag. But just as she was about to come down, Leomon said, "Wait."

"Oh god, don't tell me this fruit belongs to someone else!" Cho groaned as Chise bit her lip at the very mention of that. However, it seemed Leomon had another meaning as he said, "I just wanted to let you know that unlike in your world, fruit in the Digital World never rots, nor is it ever unripe. I would recommend picking enough to fill up all of yours bags before progressing further."

Akari's eyes sparkled at the sound of that as Cho slid down and was given everyone's bags. And on that note, the blue-haired girl gladly filled all of them and thus the group was set. Of course, Hazuki would not be able to benefit like the others, but it was still refreshing to have so much food on them nonetheless.

With that, the group was finally ready to carry on. Cho had convinced Asami to put away her phone so she would not have to stop and take a picture of everything she saw while also keeping Chise from panicking. Needless to say, Leomon was relieved to have at least one member of the five keeping the others in check since they hardly seemed to care about what he had to say.

After a bit of travelling, though, Leomon heard a noise as his ear twitched. The lion narrowed his eyelids and said, "Someone's in trouble."

Chise squeaked in panic as Akari asked, "Do you know where, Cho?" the blue-haired girl shaking her head and replying, "It was easy back in our world because there was only one Digimon present in the area. Now that we're in a world crawling with them, I can't differentiate one smell from the other."

"No need," Leomon stated, "Follow me!"

With that, the girls followed close behind as he led them to a pond where a tapir with legs made of smoke was confronted by a big red stag beetle. He seemed to be trying to stop the beast with some kind of dark energy but it had no effect as the beetle trapped him in its pincers.

"HEY, PUT THAT DIGIMON DOWN!" Cho exclaimed as all five diamonds glowed, the girls taking on their hero forms.

Before the beetle could even respond Akari leapt at it and scratched it across the cheek while shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

"ROLLING UPPER!" Cho exclaimed while rolling hard into the beetle's chest while Chise rolled into the side of its head and shouted, "DIAMOND SHELL!"

This caused the insect to release its hold on the tapir while Asami flew at it after having a beak form where her mouth usually was and shouted, "BEAK PECKER!" the rich girl pecking the insect repeatedly.

Before the beetle could even respond, Hazuki added to the damage by sending a dark wind into it while shouting, "RAZOR WING!"

The beetle was feeling incredibly weak as Leomon's fist caught flame, the lion throwing it forward. With that, a flame in the shape of a lion's head flew out of the fist and hit the beetle hard, lightning its body on fire.

The insect cried out in pain as its body turned into data and floated away from the area. The tapir was breathing heavily as Leomon knelt down in front of him and assured him all would be okay now.

With that, the Digimon nodded his head and exited the area, Leomon taking a deep breath and saying, "I have to say, you five aren't bad. You're only in your rookie forms and yet you performed greatly when facing that champion."

"Honestly, that guy was kind of a joke," Cho said with a shrug as Akari smiled and stated, "I'm just glad we were able to help that Digimon."

Leomon had to admit that after seeing that, his confidence in the five had gone up quite a bit. Not only did they certainly have the power to stand up to Digimon attacks but their hearts were certainly in the right place.

The next ten hours went by without any further problems. The girls did need a couple of breaks here and there from all the walking, but on the whole, it was not too bad. There were no infected Digimon attacks nor did anyone seem to need their help for anything.

And once evening rolled around, though one would not have guessed it was evening from the sunny sky, the six had arrived at a rather nice little village, Primary Village to be exact. However, it was not what they would have expected a village to look like.

The grass was darkened in certain areas to form squares on the ground, making the entire village look like a grid. The houses were not made of wood, straw, bricks or even metal. Instead, they were made out of building blocks and other giant toys. All-in-all, it certainly looked like a haven for growing children.

Upon entering, Akari noticed a small red spherical creature with bat wings as ears and no arms or limbs. As the Digimon turned to look at them, the redhead's eyes sparkled. However, she did not wish to scare the child as she slowly walked over and knelt down.

"Hi, my name's Akari," the girl said with a friendly smile. The others watched in silence as the red Digimon examined her for a few seconds before licking her chin. Akari giggled in response and said, "You are too cute."

With that, more little Digimon with similar builds came out from a small house and hopped over to the girls while Chise bit her lower lip. Cho looked at her with confusion, but that changed when a smile formed on the blond's face. And with that, Chise immediately walked over and started petting the various Digimon.

"It looked like she was freaking out over a bunch of babies," Cho said with a shrug when a slightly taller Digimon that resembled a pink blob hopped over to her and pulled on her pant leg.

The blue-haired girl looked down as the Digimon pointed at her and said, "You look funny," Cho asking, "Baby Digimon can talk?"

"No," Leomon replied, "That one's in-training, meaning he's old enough to talk."

Hazuki and Asami were also rather happy to be in front of all these children as Asami picked up a yellow spherical creature with a fox tail and cradled her while cooing, "Hello, what's your name?" as the baby replied with a series of baby fox noises.

Even Leomon could not help but give a light smile when pink rabbit-like creature with a silver mask over her eyes and eight ears emerged from the same house. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Leomon as she smiled softly and walked over.

"Well, hello, Leomon," the rabbit said, "Long time no see."

"It's nice to see you too, Lekismon," the lion replied, "I see you're still taking good care of the children. It must be difficult."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," the rabbit replied as the girls got up, Cho asking, "Who's that?"

Akari nudged her and uttered, "That's rude," as Leomon nodded only for Lekismon to chuckle and say, "It's fine. I am Lekismon, the caretaker of these Digimon."

"It's very nice to meet you," Akari replied with a big smile, the girls introducing themselves.

When Lekismon heard no 'mon' in either girl's name, she nodded and said, "I figured you girls couldn't possibly be Digimon."

"They are the heroes Ophanimon summoned here," Leomon explained, "They may not seem it, but they possess great power. I've seen it in action."

"You better believe it!" Cho exclaimed with a grin, "Don't you worry, ma'am! We're gonna march over to that virus and kick his butt!" one of the in-training Digimon smiling wide and squealing, "Butt!"

Chise chuckled a bit as Asami quickly slapped her hands over the sides of the baby's head, exclaiming, "Look what you did! You're being a bad influence!" Cho simply smirking and cooing, "Aw, a kid after my own heart!"

"So, I guess you'll be taking off soon," Lekismon said as Leomon shook his head and replied, "Oh no. We may be in a bit of a hurry, but we still have quite some time before the virus reaches full power. I was hoping you might have a guest room for the girls. I'm comfortable sleeping under the stars myself."

"Well, any ally of ours is more than welcome here," Lekismon replied with a gentle smile, "I'll prepare you all dinner."

Akari looked at all the kids Lekismon would have to feed and said, "You don't have to go to the trouble. We have our own food," only for the rabbit to shake her head and reply, "Oh, it's no trouble at all, but thank you for your concern."

With that, the rabbit retreated to the house she had emerged from while Leomon folded his arms and said, "Enjoy this while it lasts. This may be the last peaceful moment we'll get."

"In that case," Asami said before taking out her phone. The babies stared at it with curiosity as they had never seen such a device before, Asami happily explaining everything to them. Once that was over with, she quickly started taking photos of the babies including a few of the children next to her.

However, while taking photos, she noticed one in particular who looked rather nervous. Like the other babies, this Digimon was round with no arms or legs. He had pointy cat-like ears and a purple body. A single fang stuck out of the side of the baby's mouth and his eyes were completely black. For some reason, he seemed fixated on Akari.

While the others seemed confused, Akari simply gave the baby a warm smile and walked over before saying, "Hi, little guy. What's your name?" only for the baby to start crying.

Leomon turned as Lekismon ran out of her house and approached the baby before saying, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Kiimon here was born two days ago, so he's still really shy around others."

"That could be a problem considering each type shares a single house every night," Leomon stated as Lekismon picked up Kiimon and cradled him while saying, "It's fine. He sleeps around me at least, and besides, he's only been alive for two days. I'm sure he'll warm up to the others soon."

With that, Lekismon retreated back to her house with Kiimon in her arms so she could continue preparing dinner for everyone. All the while, Akari tapped her chin and said, "I don't know what it is, but that baby has a familiar vibe to him."

"I felt it too," Cho replied as Asami shrugged and said, "It's probably nothing."

However, the peace was suddenly interrupted when a dark-grey Digimon entered the village. The girls turned as Leomon's eyes widened at the sight of this. Whoever this was must have been bad news as the babies instinctively broke out into tears upon seeing him.

The being was a buff human-like figure with four arms and three faces. His middle face wore a red mask and had an angry expression, his left face wore a blue mask and had a sad look and the right face wore a yellow mask and looked happy.

"What are you doing here, Asuramon!?" Leomon exclaimed, "I know for a fact that your master wouldn't approve of this. Perhaps you have seen the light."

"Asuramon?" Akari asked as Cho stated, "It's like the famous Hindu God, Asura."

"No, I haven't decided to join you if that's what you mean," the Digimon answered while folding his arms, "Master sent me here to destroy Primary Village."

Leomon's eyes widened as Asami gasped, "But I thought your master needed this place to remain standing!" the Digimon noticing the girls and saying, "I have no idea what humans are doing here, but that one seems to know an awful lot."

Leomon simply narrowed his eyelids as the Asura sighed, "But she is right. Up until now, our master has had no problem keeping Primary Village alive so that potential additions to his army can grow up big and strong. However, there's been a change of plans. He now figures it would be easier to capture them when they're too young to defend themselves. Then they can grow up in captivity and he can change them after they reach their champion levels."

Leomon's eyes went wide as Cho asked, "Wait, you mean he just thought that up? I was starting to think maybe Digimon couldn't grow up in harsh climates or something."

Whatever the case, the girls knew it was time to fight as they quickly whipped out their diamonds. Asuramon's eyes widened as all five transformed. However, his shock turned into anticipation as his head turned around so the yellow mask was facing forward. A big grin was on his face as he exclaimed, "So you brought heroes with you! This is going to be fun!"

Lekismon poked her head out in response to all the noise as she quickly signalled the children to return to their respective homes. She had a feeling Leomon could handle this, especially when he had five heroes chosen by Ophanimon herself to help out.

But not all was well as she noticed Kiimon growling. The rabbit turned to him and said, "There, there, it's okay. Mister Leomon has this handled."

However, Kiimon did not seem to listen as he bounced toward the door only for Lekismon to stop him in his tracks and hold him close to her. She took a deep breath and said, "Stay here, okay? You'll be safe in here."

"Careful, girls," Leomon said, "I know you're very strong, I've seen the proof, but Asuramon is an ultimate level. Be on your guard."

All the while, Asuramon had a serious look in his eyes as he held up his burning fists. Hopefully this would turn out well.


	20. Chapter 20

Things had just taken a turn for worse. The day had been mostly peaceful save for one very easy battle. The girls had even taken a rest stop in a village that the virus never targeted before and yet now it was under attack by an ultimate level Digimon.

And Asuramon was not going to let the girls fight as he unleashed an onslaught of fireballs from his fists. Seeing this, the girls immediately started to dodge, save for Chise who hid in her shell and allowed it to take in the fire for her.

Unfortunately, this strategy did not seem to last long as the shell turned from orange to red. And with that, Chise cried out in pain and retracted from her shell as Asuramon took full advantage of this and charged at her shouting, "Easy victory!"

However, Cho was not going to allow this as she spun hard into the demon's face while shouting, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!" her fists repeatedly beating against his cheeks.

The others were not going to let Cho face this threat alone as Hazuki flew over to the Asura and shouted, "DEATH CLAW!" flying right past him while sending a hard strike into his shoulder. Akari added to the damage with her claws while exclaiming, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

"FEATHER STRIKE!" Asami shouted as she picked her feather off of her headband and hurled it toward Asuramon.

However, it seemed that despite all the girls had done, Asuramon did not even so much as flinch as he took hold of Cho's arms and spun his body around like a twister. With that, he used Cho's body to knock Akari back before hurling the blue-haired girl into Hazuki while Chise looked on in horror.

The feather was only a millisecond away from hitting the Asura as he managed to just barely hurl a fireball into it thus causing the veins to disintegrate. Even if the whole feather was still there, it was certainly not going to return to Asami like it normally would have.

The rich girl's eyes widened as she spat, "How dare you!?" only for the Asura to turn to her with his yellow mask in front, a big maniacal grin forming on his face.

But just as it seemed Asami was going to be attacked, Leomon immediately leapt toward Asuramon with his blade out and swung it across his shoulder, drawing a bit of blood. Asuramon winced in pain and held onto his shoulder while his head turned back to the red mask.

"Why do you insist on serving this virus, Asuramon!?" Leomon exclaimed, "You used to be one of our top fighters! What happened!?"

"He used to be on the side of good?" Cho asked with a look of shock while the Asura sighed, "It's quite simple, Leomon, and if you had any common sense you would understand. The virus' plan is simply to infect anyone who doesn't follow him. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that was hardly a bad thing. It is not as if he plans on destroying life as we know it. As long as we all accept him as our leader, we will always have free will!"

"You call this free will!?" Leomon retorted, "How is blindly obeying someone any more free than doing so against your will!? I thought you were smarter than this!"

"Perhaps it is you who is lacking intelligence," Asuramon retorted as he held up his fists. The girls were about to join in again when Leomon took a deep breath and said, "Stand back, girls. This is my fight now."

"Are you serious!?" Cho retorted as Chise uttered, "Yeah, you might need us," Cho nodding and adding, "Look, I used to think that in order to be a true hero, I would have to fight all my battles alone, but I soon realized I was being selfish!"

"I know what you're saying," Leomon replied, "but this is something I need to do. It's hard to put into words, but please, just trust me on this one."

Cho pinched her forehead as Akari nodded and replied, "Okay, but if you lose, we're going to help," Leomon nodding and replying, "Fine."

Asuramon smirked and stated, "You should accept their help. Not even you can possibly defeat me alone," only for the lion to hold up his fists and retort, "Things change, Asuramon. You might see a different result today."

Leomon remembered two months prior to this day when he and Asuramon were allies. They made for one of the most formidable teams in Ophanimon's army and defeated many viruses together. For a whole month, they remained great friends. In fact, the two always felt happy around one-another.

But then along came a new virus, one that had power that surpassed many. He was only a champion at the time and yet he had singlehandedly managed to overpower every Digimon fighting for the side of good. And things only got worse when he took over a small town and used his power to infect every Digimon there. And over the course of a week, he had somehow gained enough power to reach his ultimate level, thus he was able to cover even more of the Digital World and infect more Digimon than ever before.

Leomon and Asuramon stormed into his new home to take him down, but the virus made quick work of them. They had barely managed to land a single blow and yet this virus hit them multiple times thus giving them no choice but to retreat.

But on the way back to Data Village, Asuramon stopped in his tracks as Leomon turned and asked, "Do you need a rest?"

Asuramon took a deep breath and replied, "No, I'm going back," the lion's eyes widening as he asked, "You're going to take the virus on yourself? But we didn't even stand a chance when fighting together!"

"That's not why I'm going," Asuramon remarked, Leomon staring with confusion as the Asura added, "During that fight, the virus said he'd spare our lives and let us keep our freedom if we submitted to him. I have no desire to one day let him control me."

Leomon stared in stunned silence before asking, "This is a lie, right? I know, you're pretending to join his army to lower his guard and take him out from within. Brilliant tactic!"

"No," Asuramon retorted, "I'm joining his army for real. You saw his power. He's only and ultimate and yet he displayed more ferocity than even a mega. I don't even think the entire army could defeat him."

"What are you talking about!?" Leomon asked, "The Asuramon I know would never give up this easily! What happened to the Asuramon who believed in nothing but justice!?"

Asuramon took a deep breath and replied, "Leomon, I have enjoyed our time fighting together, I really have, and if this virus was trying to kill us all, I would never agree to join his ranks. But his only plan to brainwash us. If we serve him, he won't do that. He'll let us keep our freedom. It doesn't sound like a bad deal."

The lion shook his head and remarked, "You're not Asuramon," only for the demon to turn and sigh, "You're free to think whatever you want, but if you have any common sense, you'd join me."

While he watched Asuramon walk off into the distance, Leomon's shock and confusion turned into anger and bitterness. And from that moment on, he found it difficult to be happy about anything again.

A week later, Asuramon was trying to capture Digimon from Data Village for the virus to infect only for Leomon to rush in. The two stared at each-other for a few seconds before starting a big fight with one-another. But in the end, Asuramon proved too powerful for the lion. And it certainly did not help that Leomon was holding back due the fear of fighting his former best friend.

But before Asuramon could finish off what he started, he heard a familiar voice exclaim, "EDEN'S JAVELIN!" before taking in a hard beam to his side. He turned and noticed Ophanimon floating there with her javelin pointed at him. Even he knew he could not defeat the queen and as such, he fled from the area.

Ophanimon landed next to Leomon and asked, "Are you okay?" before bending down and extending her hand.

The lion took a deep breath and got up slowly, a look of regret on his face as he growled, "No, I'm not okay! I shouldn't have held back like that!"

"But it's only natural-" Ophanimon replied only for the lion to cut in and retort, "If it was natural, why wouldn't Asuramon have had the same problem!? No, next time we meet, he'll wish he never turned his back on us!"

And right now, when Leomon looked at the Asura before him, he did not see a former friend. He saw an enemy who deserved to be destroyed. And right now, all he could think about was winning this fight and saving the children in Primary Village.

With that, he threw his fist forward as a flame shaped like a lion's head flew out of it. However, Asuramon was prepared for this as he easily dodged to the side and sent a stream of fire toward the lion with all four fists. Leomon dodged to the right in time to avoid a fatal hit but not in time to avoid taking in a burn to the side.

The girl winced at the sight of this as Cho exclaimed, "COME ON, LEOMON, YOU CAN DO IT!" the lion nodding and replying, "Yes, I can do this!"

With that, Leomon whipped out his blade once again and charged at Asuramon only for the demon to dodge to the right and send two of his arms into the lion's side. Leomon tried his best to ignore the pain as he spun his body around with his sword held outward. This time, he managed to land a hit, once again putting a cut in Asuramon's shoulder.

Asuramon was caught off-guard as Leomon punched his cheek, or rather his blue face hard. He then grabbed the Asura by the shoulders and leaned backward, planting his head hard into the ground while the girls cheered.

"Leomon, you rule!" Cho exclaimed as Asami added, "Good show! Very good show!"

Leomon ignored their praise as he was far too focused on the fight. The lion glared when Asuramon rolled away from him before positioning himself upright.

"As you can see, I stand much more of a chance this time," Leomon stated, "Last time, I was holding back because you were once my friend. But I'm not holding back anymore."

Asuramon nodded his head and replied, "I'm glad to hear that. I'll admit, our first fight did disappoint me. It's good to know you weren't trying your hardest that time."

With that, the two charged at one-another and started sending an onslaught of punches at one-another, each one's fists colliding with the other's. All the while, the girls simply watched with much interest. This was something they never thought they would experience in real life, a grudge match between former allies.

After a while, Leomon noticed an opening whipped out his sword, putting yet another cut on Asuramon. However, the Asura had allowed him to land the hit as a means of leaving the lion open for the stream of flames used earlier.

Kiimon started to struggle even harder to get out of Lekismon's grip as she uttered, "No, you're staying inside little one."

As if Leomon taking in the flames was not bad enough, this proved far more powerful than all three strikes from his sword had been. As such, the lion was feeling weak as he struggled to get up only for Asuramon to leap high into the air and plant his feet hard into Leomon's chest.

The lion coughed up a bit of blood as the girls gasped, Asuramon grinning wickedly and saying, "I must admit, you put up a really good fight, but in the end, I'm still the stronger Digimon."

"Well, he didn't oppose to our offer to help if he lost, right?" Cho asked as the others nodded.

With that, Hazuki held out her hands and exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" before unleashing a burst of black energy.

Asuramon saw this coming as he leaned back thus allowing it to fly over his head. However, the others were not going to let it end there as Asami soared toward him like an actual hawk and rammed her talon-like shoes into his chest.

However, this did not seem to be enough to knock the Asura down as he ignored the pain it dealt and sent a fireball into the rich girl's chest. This send her flying away from him as Cho had Chise curl up into her shell so she could use the blond like a soccer ball.

But as Chise flew toward the Asura, he simply grabbed hold of her and hurled her hard into Cho's face. He then noticed Hazuki flying toward him as he stepped slightly to the right just in time for her to soar right next to him. With that, the demon lifted up two of his arms and rammed his fists hard into the goth's midsection.

Akari proceeded to pounce at the demon only for Asuramon to hurl Hazuki into her. He then took a deep breath and said, "You're the heroes my master was afraid of? You're hardly worth my time."

"I don't get it," Cho uttered, "Leomon should have at least softened him up," as Chise trembled and uttered, "I can see why Leomon lost."

"We should probably attack him at once," Akari suggested, "After all, that's helped over the past against opponents like this."

Cho nodded as the others immediately came up with a plan to catch him off guard. With that, Chise once again tucked herself into her shell and rolled toward Asuramon while shouting, "DIAMOND SHELL!"

Asuramon smirked and asked, "Don't you have any other tricks?" before letting loose a series of fireballs. Luckily, Chise had expected this after taking it in once already and thus she stopped herself from rolling forward and proceeded to roll to the side.

Asuramon continued to shoot fireballs while trying to hit Chise while the other four sprint behind him and rushed at him all at once. When they were close enough, all four hit him with their most powerful close-range attacks as the Asura seemed to feel it that time, his eyes going wide as the blue mask moved to the front side of his head.

Seeing this, Chise proceeded to roll forward and hit the Digimon square in the face. However, just as quickly as Asuramon had felt the pain, he managed to ignore it as he threw up his hands and grabbed hold of the blond. Rather than throwing her, though, he used the fire on his hands to heat up the shell as Chise squeaked in pain and emerged from her shell.

With that, the other girls were unable to react in time as Asuramon punched Chise hard in the face and sent her flying into a tree. As a result, her glasses flew off and landed five feet in front of her. It was at that moment that Chise's vision started to blur as she whimpered, "Oh no! I can't see without my glasses!"

With that, she knelt down and started crawling around to look for them. A part of Asuramon wanted to mess with her by breaking them, but he did not have enough time to do that as the others girls once again lunged at him from behind.

With that, the demon simply held his arms out, stood on his tip-toes and spun like a top. Once the girls were close enough, they ended up taking in hard blows from his fists as they were all sent tumbling along the ground.

It was at this moment that Kiimon freed himself from Lekismon's grip and hopped outside with fury in his expression. Lekismon ran out and exclaimed, "NO!" the girls gasping when the baby leapt at Asuramon and bit into the side of his ankle.

The demon looked down at the kid, but rather than being irritated, he simply nodded his head and said, "A feisty one. You'll make a good addition to our army for sure."

"UNHAND THAT BABY RIGHT NOW!" Lekismon exclaimed with a look of fury in her eyes as she hurled froth from her hands into Asuramon's face.

"I didn't even touch him," the Asura uttered before yawning and closing his eyes, the girls staring in shock.

Lekismon proceeded to leap at Asuramon and kick him in the face before prying Kiimon off of his ankle and allowing the demon to fall hard on his back. However, while this certainly worked, it had also woken him up as he sent a fireball into the rabbit's back.

Lekismon winced in pain but tried to ignore it as she held Kiimon close. Right now, she would much rather take in the hit than let the baby succumb to its might.

"Lekismon, get back inside!" Cho exclaimed, "We can take it from here! Just get Kiimon to safety!" the rabbit nodding and heading back toward the house as Asuramon folded his arms and sighed, "Oh well, I'll just get him when I'm done with you."

However, it did not seem like this would be so easy as Cho and Asami both glowed and Digivolved. Once again, Cho's headband became a scarf while the colours of her tops switched. Meanwhile, Asami had large wings on her back and a pair of horns.

"So two of you can Digivolve," Asuramon said with his arms folded, "I'd heard all but one of you were able to do it, and now I've seen two. This is getting interesting."

All the while, Chise bit her lip and felt helpless right now. Sure, she may not have seen it happen, but Asuramon's words made it obvious. However, the blond also remembered hearing about how Cho and Asami were able to Digivolve.

As such, she closed her eyes and thought, 'Please, whoever it is who lives in my diamond, give me the power to protect everyone.'

Unfortunately, nothing happened as she had not yet made contact with her spirit. And to make matters worse, she still had not found her glasses yet. But all seemed better when Akari used this chance to sprint over to Chise and grab the objects in question, placing them in front of the blond.

Chise smiled wide and put them back on before squealing, "Thank you so much, Akari!" the cat girl nodding and replying, "Come on, we need to do this."

During this time, Asami soared toward Asuramon while shouting, "GRAND HORN!"

Asuramon saw this coming and grabbed hold of the horns only for the rich girl to open her mouth and unleash a barrage of ring-shaped beams as she belted, "BLAST RINGS!"

Asuramon had trouble ignoring the pain as the beams hit his face hard. All the while, Cho dashed behind him and proceeded to leap at him and cling to his back. After that, she sunk her teeth hard into his shoulder while growling, "GAOGA HOUND!"

Hazuki smirked and said, "That's my kind of strategy," before sending her dark energy into the Asura's cheek. All the while, Akari and Chise were both headed toward him as Akari struck his shoulder with her claws, Chise ramming into the other one.

However, of all the hits, Chise's was the one Asuramon did not feel. As such, he took full advantage of that by grabbing hold of the blond and using her hard shell to knock the others away from him. After that, he proceeded to hurl her far away from him as he took a deep breath.

"So you can put up a better fight now," Asuramon stated, "That hardly matters. I came here on a mission and I'm not going to stop until I complete it!"

"But why?" Akari asked after slowly rising to her feet, "Why do you do this? You're not under the virus' control. You don't have to follow him. You were Leomon's partner, right?"

Asuramon stared at the girl for a few seconds before gritting his teeth and retorting, "JUST SHUT UP AND STAY FOCUSED!" before holding out his arms and spinning like a top once again. However, unlike last time, he unleashed a barrage of fireballs in all directions.

"OH, CRAP!" Cho exclaimed as the girls tried their hardest to dodge. Unfortunately, dodging the fire was just as difficult as it seemed and as such, the girls took in many hits and were soon covered in burns. And worst of all, Chise was feeling far too weak to fight as she slowly closed her eyes and lost consciousness.

"CHISE!" Cho exclaimed as the others stared with concern. Unfortunately, after taking in so many blasts at once, the other four were feeling rather weak as well.

However, Cho was not going to let this go as she slowly pushed herself up and exclaimed, "Alright, you messed with the wrong girl!"

She then proceeded to charge at the Asura while she swiped her claws downward in an X formation and shouted, "DASH DOUBLE CLAW!" Blades of energy formed in front of her and flew toward Asuramon but once again, he saw this coming and dodged to the right. After that, he sent a flame hard into the blue-haired girl's gut.

The others tried their hardest to get up but had trouble doing so. However, Akari realized this might be just the kind of dire circumstance that could bring out her ultimate form. But just as she was about to wish for it, Cho's body started glow while the others stared in awe.

Cho's form once again changed as her scarf vanished and was replaced by black visor appeared on her forehead yet did not cover her eyes. Her boxing gloves disappeared as a pair of big metal arms formed in their place. Her tops also vanished and were replaced by a metal breastplate while a big red belt wrapped itself around her left shoulder and right armpit like a sash. Her shorts became a mix of white and black while her shoes were replaced by metal ones that resembled feet. To top it all off, she also had a pair of rockets attached to her back.

Akari's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "Cho, you've reached your ultimate form!" Hazuki uttering, "I thought she'd have to have champion as her default form to get that. Now I wonder if it's possible for us to go beyond our first Digivolutions."

"Two Digivolutions," Asuramon uttered, "The master will want to hear about this, though it won't matter when I'm done with you."

"I don't think so!" Cho retorted before activating her rockets and flying toward Asuramon. The demon proceeded to fire a stream of fire toward her with all four fists only for the girl to easily dodge it and send her fist hard into his face while barking, "WINNING KNUCKLE!"

While Asuramon had shown great resistance to pain so far, he could no longer hold it in. This combined with all the damage dealt earlier was simply too much for him to handle as he went flying into a nearby rock.

"HOWLING CANNON!" Cho exclaimed as she unleashed a loud howl thus releasing ultrasonic rays from her mouth that hit the Asura hard.

Finally, Cho flew around Asuramon and shouted, "GAOGA TORNADO!" and unleashed a high speed barrage of punches while she circled the demon.

Soon enough, Asuramon could no longer fight back as he fell to his knees and sighed, "I can't believe it. You girls really are something else," as Cho took a deep breath and sighed, "I probably wouldn't have won so easily if we hadn't weakened you so much earlier."

Asuramon nodded and replied, "I don't know if that's true or not, but I admit defeat. Just end it now."

But just as Cho was about to grant his wish, Akari squeaked, "Wait!" the blue-haired girl turning to her and retorting, "Why!?" before rolling her eyes and sighing, "Oh, right, now I get it."

"Asuramon, it doesn't have to be this way," the cat girl stated as Leomon had just started to regain consciousness, his eyes going wide when he saw the state Asuramon was in.

"Why would you even consider sparing my life?" Asuramon asked as the lion cut in and replied, "Because Akari's right. I am willing to forgive you if you stop following that virus and join us. Please, let's go back to how we once were."

With that, Leomon held out his hand with for the first time in weeks, he actually smiled. Asuramon slowly reached out his arm as Cho took a deep breath. Truth be told, a part of her did prefer Akari's idea.

Unfortunately, this did not seem to go as planned as Asuramon took hold of Leomon's sword and jabbed it through the side of his head. Everyone stared in shock as the Asura pulled out and uttered, "I'm sorry, Leomon, but it's too late for me."

With that, the demon turned into data and floated off into the distance while Leomon's body trembled, a light tear rolling down the side of his face. Akari had a look of concern as she placed a hand against his shoulder and smiled bright. Leomon let out a deep breath and nodded. After all, Asuramon was not completely dead. Soon enough, he would return and perhaps grow up to be a champion of justice once again.

After that, Cho reverted to normal and ran over to Chise. With that, the blue-haired girl tried to pick her up only to find that all that energy used earlier had exerted her energy quite a bit. And because the others still felt a little too weak to help out, Lekismon hopped over when she noticed everything was fine and scooped the unconscious blond up with a warm smile.

"You all deserve a nice long rest," the rabbit said, "Thank you so much for saving the children."

Leomon took a deep breath and replied, "Yes, you girls are even more amazing than I could have imagined. I would have liked to have stopped him myself, but I'm glad you were here to finish what I started."

Though deep down, the lion was hurting. Not only had Asuramon chosen death over redemption but he had killed himself with his former best friend's sword. How could Leomon not feel saddened by this?


	21. Chapter 21

With the fight with Asuramon finally taken care of, everyone was able to take a nice, well-deserved rest. But as Leomon had said earlier, they needed to enjoy this while it lasted. It was only a matter of time until they entered the more dangerous parts of the Digital World.

Lekismon had prepared a simple meal of soup and bread for everyone in the village with Kiimon trying to help out. Of course, since he was a baby and did not know how to do most of this stuff, the rabbit decided that in order to help him be important, she would have him simply watch the oven while the bread was baking and call her if he saw smoke come out of it.

All the while, the girls were all seated in chairs and relaxing except for Chise who had been placed in one of the guest beds. After a good half-hour, she had finally managed to awaken as she noticed her glasses right next to the bed and put them on.

"Oh, hey, you're awake!" Cho exclaimed with a grin as Chise blinked and asked, "Why am I in bed?"

"You were knocked out," Hazuki replied, "but don't worry. Cho finished off Asuramon," the blue-haired girl looking down and sighing, "Actually, he finished himself."

Leomon had said nothing the entire time. He was currently seated in a corner with a look of both anger and depression on his face. He could not understand what had happened. He was willing to give Asuramon a second chance and yet his former friend had chosen to kill himself. Why would he not choose to redeem himself? Did he think it was too late or something?

Though Chise had not seen this, she had a good idea of what Cho meant as she decided not to press for further information. Instead, she smiled at the blue-haired girl and said, "It's good to know we saved the children."

"Yes, it is," Asami replied, "Chise is absolutely right. I am certain that everything will be alright from here on out."

Hazuki nodded and took a tiny sip from her bottle of blood before looking at Leomon with concern. A part of her wanted to walk over and comfort him but at the same time, she could tell he was not in the mood for it. And needless to say, Akari was thinking the same thing.

Instead, the redhead decided to lighten the mood by adding, "Anyway, Cho helped carry you to this bed. She was the first to act," Chise blushing lightly and bowing her head to the blue-haired girl as she said, "Thank you."

"Nah, don't thank me too much," Cho replied with a sigh, "I wasn't strong enough to carry you all the way here. Lekismon did most of the work."

At that moment, the rabbit in question entered the guest house and said, "Hi, girls. Dinner's ready. Just follow me to the dining area."

The girls all turned to one-another as Cho looked at Chise and asked, "Should I bring you your dinner?" as the blond shook her head and replied, "No, I'm okay."

With that, the girl pushed herself up only for her shoulder to go numb as she winced in pain. The others stared as Akari stated, "You shouldn't push yourself, Chise."

Lekismon nodded and replied, "Yes, you wait right here. I'll bring you your dinner," Cho cutting in and saying, "You don't need to trouble yourself. I already volunteered," the rabbit bowing her head and replying, "You are very thoughtful, Cho."

Chise then turned to Leomon and asked, "Um, Mister Leomon, sir, are you going to join them?" the lion weakly looking at her and seeing a look in her eyes that said 'I'd like to be alone right now'. The lion knew that feeling all too well and as such, he rose to his feet and said, "Yes, I think I will have some dinner."

With that, the lion exited the room as Chise took a deep breath and held her hand up to her chest. She had a look of both fear and confusion on her face as she could feel her heart racing like it never had before. But what had come over her? Was it a fear of being attacked by a strong opponent again or something else?

After two minutes, Cho came into the house with Chise's dinner just like she had promised. She had a big grin on her face as she exclaimed, "You gotta try this! It's simple but it's tasty!"

"Thank you," Chise replied with a light smile as Cho placed the plate on her lap. With that, Chise ripped a small piece off of her bread and dipped it in her soup before taking a bite. Cho was right. It was tasty.

However, just as Cho was about to head back to the others, the blond turned to her and asked, "Cho, can I ask you something?"

The blue-haired girl nodded and replied, "Sure," as Chise took a deep breath and asked, "Am I a good member of the team?"

A look of confusion formed on Cho's face as she replied, "Of course you are. We all make for a great team. Why would you even ask that?"

"Well, sometimes I feel like I'm the weak link," Chise replied as Cho was about to object only for the blond to add, "Think about it. While each of you has finished off a Digimon at least once, I do nothing but deal a little damage to help with that. All of you fought to the end today and yet I got knocked out before I could really do anything. But most of all, I can't Digivolve. Asami's barely been with us and she can already do that, so why can't I do it yet?"

Cho had to admit, she was having trouble finding a response to that as Chise whimpered, "It's because I'm too weak. Be honest. That's it, isn't it?"

Cho let out a sigh and put on a serious expression before taking hold of Chise's shoulders and explaining, "Chise, you are a very good member of the team. You may not have Digivolved yet, but if you ask me, I think you might be holding yourself back. Just you wait. I know that someday, you'll Digivolve and probably end up being stronger than me. After all, I got strong fists but you have a hard shell."

Cho then flashed a grin as Chise's eyes widened. She then nodded her head and replied, "You might be right. Thank you, Cho."

During this time, the virus was walking around his palace out of boredom when suddenly, a floating chrysalis flew over to him. The spider wasted no time as he headed back to his quarters to see what the Digimon had recorded for him.

Once inside, he took a seat as a projection came from the chrysalis' eyes show him Asuramon's defeat. When the virus saw who was responsible, his eyes went wide. Why had he heard nothing about this? To have the heroes of Tokyo enter the Digital World was certainly a big deal.

"So Ophanimon has decided to call upon them for help," the virus uttered before turning to the chrysalis and opening his mouth to say something. However, he stopped himself from saying what came to mind and said, "Good job. Continue scouting."

With that, the chrysalis exited the room as the virus took a deep breath and said to himself, "Alright, no more sitting around and barking orders. I'm going to take matters into my own hands."

With that, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes as a black force came from out his back and flew off into the distance. The spider took a deep breath and said, "I hope this works. I've never tried it before."

He then stroked his chin and added, "Then again, that's because now that I've used, I can't use it again. Now I really hope it works."

Soon enough, dinner was out of the way as the girls spent the rest of the evening playing with the children. Chise was trying her hardest to remain positive yet her self-doubt was still on her mind. Even so, Cho had assured her that things would be alright, so perhaps it was time she stopped beating herself up.

Leomon, on the other hand, was still having trouble getting over the death of Asuramon. Akari noticed this and walked over to the lion before placing her hand on his shoulder with a sweet smile. Leomon took a deep breath and tried to force a smile but found it too difficult.

Seeing this, Akari let out a light sigh and gave the lion a quick hug before heading back to the others. Now Leomon did find himself able to give a weak smile as he figured perhaps Akari's tendency to look on the bright side of things was not a bad one. After all, while Asuramon may have gone down as a slave to the virus, Leomon figured the Asura would not want him to spend his life mourning his death.

Meanwhile, Lekismon was playing with Kiimon when suddenly, the purple ball turned toward Akari with a nervous look. The rabbit looked at him with confusion and asked, "Is something wrong, Kiimon?"

However, her eyes went wide when she noticed the ball hop over to Akari and look up at her. The rabbit could not believe what she was seeing. Was Kiimon trying to make friends?

Akari noticed this and beamed brightly before cooing, "Hello, Kiimon. How are you?"

Then for the first time since his birth, the baby smiled and let out a light squeaking sound. With that, he hopped up and down happily as Akari understood what he was trying to communicate. Kiimon clearly wanted to play and there was no way the redhead would turn down such a request.

Lekismon breathed a sigh of relief and enjoyed watching the two play with each-other. Sure, Kiimon still did not feel ready to play with the others, but the fact that he could trust someone other than Lekismon was definitely a good start.

Soon enough, the sky was replaced by a dark blue one covered in stars, which of course meant it was now night time. With that in mind, the children were sent to their respective houses as Lekismon lulled them all off to sleep. Though of course she saved Kiimon for last as he could only bring himself to sleep with her.

All the while, the girls were resting in the guest beds while Leomon decided to sleep on the floor while resting up against a wall. While the others had gotten to sleep fairly quickly, Chise was having trouble as she had a look of depression on her face.

"Don't worry," Cho whispered to her with a supportive smile, "Trust me, it'll happen. You just need to give it time."

With that, the blue-haired girl gave the blond a quick wink before yawning and dozing off almost instantly. Chise smiled lightly for a few seconds but soon went back to her more depressed look. A part of her wanted to believe that Cho was right, but at the same time, she was uncertain of whether or not she was even good enough to Digivolve.

Soon enough, drowsiness took over as Chise yawned and removed her glasses. And soon enough, she was sound asleep just like the others.

After a few seconds, though, Chise awoke in the middle of a field covered in flowers. Her eyes widened as she looked around and spotted Cho standing nearby with her hair flowing in the breeze.

Chise got up slowly as the blue-haired girl turned to her and gave her a sweet smile. She held out her hand and said, "Hey, Chise. Would you like to join me?"

The blond nodded and asked, "Where are we going?" as Cho grinned and replied, "Come on, you'll see soon enough."

Chise held out her hand as Cho grabbed hold of it and started running with the blond close behind. Soon, the two were had run a great distance as Chise looked around and asked, "This doesn't look any different from where we started."

"Oh no, it's different," the blue-haired girl replied, "The sun shines brighter here."

With that, Cho continued to hold onto Chise's hand while using her free hand to take hold of the blond's shoulder. Chise's cheeks turned bright pink as the blue-haired girl started to lead her through a fancy ballroom dance. All the while, Chise's heart was racing rapidly, but why?

Suddenly, the flower field transformed into an actual ballroom while Cho continued to lead Chise through her dance, both girls wearing their fancy dresses now. And soon enough, the blond found herself following the steps easily as if she had done this before. But that was impossible. She had never danced before in her life.

As if this could not get any stranger, everyone else was there as well. Akari, Asami and Hazuki were all standing idly by and watching the two dance, Akari giving the two a thumb up.

"Chise," Cho sighed with a big heavenly smile on her face while Cho could not help but return the look while her cheeks were even brighter than before.

However, her eyes went wide and her heart started beating rapidly when Cho placed a finger against the blond's chin and leaned forward. Her lips were puckered as Chise closed her eyes in anticipation.

"Stop!" came a man's voice as Cho turned and saw her father, Kenichi, standing there along with Sakura.

Chise opened her eyes and turned as Cho asked, "What's up?" as Kenichi put on a stern look and remarked, "Cho, this is not right! Your mother and I forbid you from engaging in such activities with Chise!"

"Yes, your father's right," Sakura stated, "This is wrong."

Chise trembled and just about broke out into tears when Cho retorted, "Why not!? Is there something wrong with me being a lesbian!?"

"Oh no, that's perfectly fine," Kenichi replied with a light smile, "In fact, I'm glad you finally found out your sexuality," Chise and Cho both confused as the blue-haired girl asked, "In that case, what's the problem?"

"Well, Chise simply isn't right for you," Sakura explained, "A strong and smart girl like you needs someone much more fitting, someone who is also competent in battle and intelligent."

Chise now had a look of uncertainty in her eyes as she turned to Cho. Her look then became one of dread as Cho glared at her.

"He's right," Cho stated before shoving Chise away from her and barking, "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU WEAKLING!"

Chise had no idea what to say as Akari ran over to Cho with a big smile on her face. Cho returned the smile and held out her arms while both held each-other in a tight embrace and shared a long, compassionate kiss. All the while, Chise could not help but feel devastated at the sight of this as she let down tears and bit her lower lip.

Soon enough, Cho and Akari ended their kiss and turned toward her while Akari gave a compassionate smile and said, "Sorry, Chise. I don't mean to ruin your life, but I've always been right for Cho. It's nothing personal."

Cho, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at Chise and sighed, "Stop being a baby! This is why you'll never find true love!"

"NO!" Chise cried before fleeing from the ballroom. But while she ran, she saw many visions of everyone she once considered a friend pointing and laughing at her. Some even mocked her by making fake crying motions with their hands and faces.

After a few more seconds, Chise's eyes opened wide as she sprang up and breathed heavily. She then turned to Cho for a few seconds and flipped herself onto her belly so she was now hugging her pillow with the blanket wrapped around her. She at least hoped the next dream would not be so bad.

But that was not the extent of everything going wrong today. Somewhere around four in the morning, the black force the virus had released earlier seeped into the guest room and covered the entire area. After a few seconds, the force vanished as all of the guests, their belongings and even their beds had disappeared. Even Leomon had been swept up, but where had they gone?

This was soon made clear when morning came around. Asami and Hazuki awoke while the rich girl stretched and yawned and the goth woke up in a way similar to that of an actual vampire. There was no real reason for this. She just liked adding to the image.

However, both were shocked to find themselves in a swamp with a rancid smell filling the air. Asami plugged up her nose and gasped, "What is that hideous odour!" Hazuki sighing, "I think the better question would be why we're in a swamp in the first place."

"Oh, of course," Asami replied with her eyes wide open, "I was just getting to that."

Chise and Cho woke up to find themselves in a mountain range. Though on the upside, Chise still had her glasses nearby as she put them on and squeaked in fear. Cho simply looked around and asked, "Where is everyone?"

Akari and Leomon, all the while, were in a desert with the sun blazing down on them. Leomon, all the while, let out a groan and grumbled, "Oh no."

With the group separated in their sleep, one could only guess how they would be able to reunite with one-another. But whatever the case, they needed to hurry if they were to get back on track.


	22. Chapter 22

Chise and Cho climbed out of bed and looked around. It seemed whatever that black force was had sent them into a region filled with mountains and rocks. In fact, they were currently next to a big cliff and one could only guess how far down it went.

"Chise, do you have any idea what's going on?" Cho asked as the blond shook her head and replied, "No. This doesn't make any sense."

The girl then started to tremble as Cho continued to look around before sighing, "Great, we could be anywhere in this world."

The blue-haired girl then smirked and added, "Oh well, just another challenge to overcome. I'm sure if we at least try, we might just find a way out of here."

Chise stared at Cho briefly before putting on a serious look and nodding. Not only did she knew the blue-haired girl had a point, but after her nightmare, she realized that she needed to try and become braver. After all, Cho deserved one as strong and smart as she was and Chise could not even hope to reach that level if she acted like her usual self.

While the two walked with no idea where they were headed, they noticed many tough-looking Digimon nearby. There were many dinosaur-like creatures along with a mountain goat with golden horns. But as intimidating as all of these Digimon looked, Chise tried her hardest not to let herself feel frightened of any of them. After all, it was not as if any of them were attacking the girls.

Cho turned to the blond and suggested, "Hey, Chise, if you wanna stick close to me for protection, you're more than free to do so. My arm's always open," the blue-haired girl flashing a supportive smile.

Chise gulped and was considering it before remembering that she needed to be more like Cho. As such, she forced a more serious look and replied, "I-It's okay. I'm f-f-fine," her cheeks bright pink.

"Really?" Cho asked with a look of confusion, "You don't sound fine to me. There's no shame in being scared."

"I'm n-not s-s-scared!" Chise remarked with a fake smile, "In fact, I feel better than ever! Come on, let's go!" the blond carrying on as Cho shrugged and replied, "Well, if you say so."

With that, the girls continued forward. However, they failed to notice a large green dinosaur following them close behind and glaring at them. But just as it looked like the dinosaur was about to strike, another charged toward it and started a fight with the beast.

"Did you hear something?" Cho asked as Chise replied, "Yeah, but it's probably nothing," the girl actually a tad freaked out by the sound of nearby roaring but chose not to make a big deal out of it.

The two travelled for roughly ten minutes until they came to a big thin rock sticking up out of the ground. Cho examined this and said, "Chise, wait here. I'm gonna climb up there and see if I can spot anything."

"Y-You don't need to d-d-do that," Chise uttered before putting on a more serious look and stating with a confident tone, "I can do it. I'm sure I can."

"Are you really sure about that?" Cho asked with a look of concern, "I wouldn't want you to strain yourself," Chise simply giving a smirk, the likes of which the blue-haired girl would normally give and uttered "L-Leave it to m-m-me!" while holding her thumb up.

Cho shrugged and replied, "Okay, but be careful," as the blond nodded and grabbed onto the side of the rock. However, after climbing for roughly two minutes, she started to regret this. Sure, she wanted to impress Cho, but at the same time, what if she slipped and fell?

It seemed this would not have mattered too much as when she turned her head to look down, she noticed that in that entire time, she had barely gotten anywhere. Cho let out a sigh and held out her arms with a supportive smile as Chise sighed and allowed herself to fall into the blue-haired girl's arms. After all, this was clearly getting them nowhere.

With that, Cho set her down gently and said with a grin, "Don't worry, Chise. I'll handle this," before climbing up herself, and needless to say, it only took her a few minutes to pull off what would have taken Chise more than an hour.

The blond, meanwhile, looked down with shame in her eyes. She could not believe it. A chance to prove that she could be strong too and she could not even come close to handling it.

'Who am I kidding?' Chise thought as she looked up at Cho looking off into the horizon, 'I'm really nothing more than a wimp. I need others to give me courage and I don't have any physical strength.'

Her train of thought came to a halt when Cho slid down the side of the rock and landing in front of her before sighing, "I didn't see anyone. Wherever they are, I don't think they're in this area."

"Oh, that's too bad," Chise uttered as a serious look formed on her eyes, the girl thinking, 'No, it's too early to give up. I'll find another chance and use that! I'll prove that I can be useful too!'

With that, the girls carried on as Cho pulled a fruit out from her handbag and started munching on it. Chise did the same as neither wished to go hungry, but Chise ate hers faster and with more ferocity. Cho stared at her in stunned silence as the blond blushed brightly but said nothing.

"Wow, you must have been really hungry," Cho stated while Chise looked around and wondered if she would ever find another chance to prove herself. However, she then noticed a rock that was half her size and saw this as a chance even if it was not in the way or anything like that.

The blond walked over to the rock as Cho stared at her and asked, "What are you doing?"

Chise simply gave her a forced smirk and replied, "I just got this sudden urge to lift up a big rock because that's what us tough people do," Cho staring with confusion while thinking, 'Since when have I ever gone up to give rocks and lifted them for no reason?'

And of course, Chise was struggling beyond compare to lift the object up. And of course, she could not help but feel embarrassed when Cho walked over and gave her a hand, or rather did most of the work for her. Of course, being human, she was only to lift it up a little bit but it was still more impressive than what Chise had done.

Cho took a deep breath and said, "You know, Chise, most people don't do things like this. Even when I'm mad, I don't try to settle down by lifting heavy objects."

"Really?" Chise uttered only to suddenly remember that Cho had never done anything like that before.

"Wait, are you trying to get stronger?" Cho asked, "Was that supposed to be weight-lifting? In that case, I'd recommend starting with ten pounds and working your way-"

"No, that's not," Chise whimpered as the blue-haired girl stared in confusion, the blond sighing, "Cho, I need to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot," Cho replied with a grin as Chise asked, "What are you looking for in a soul mate? Like, if you were to start dating and even get married, what kind of person would you like to spend your life with?"

Cho's eyes widened as she nodded and replied, "I see. You're trying to impress someone," a smirk forming as she added, "And of all people, you're turning to me for advice, though that isn't the kind of question people would normally ask when getting dating tips."

Chise's face was beet red as she was unsure of whether or not to go further with this subject. After all, what if Cho was not even into girls? What were the odds?

However, before anyone could say anymore, they heard a nearby roar as both turned and saw a green dinosaur standing there. It had pink stripes along its back, skulls on its shoulders and big black and red horns growing out of the same spot, curling forward so they pointed in front of its head.

Now Chise could no longer hide her fear as she trembled, Cho patting her on the shoulder and saying, "Come on, we can take this guy. We've dealt with worse."

"You're smaller than my usual prey," the dinosaur said in a low feminine voice, "but you look like a couple of tasty morsels!" Chise squeaking in panic only for Cho to add, "Okay, we can take this girl. Whatever."

The dinosaur smirked and asked, "How are you going to do that?" before firing a pair of laser beams from her horns toward the two. Both dodged and whipped out their diamonds before transforming.

As usual, Cho now had a pair of red boxing gloves, a headband of the same colour, running shoes, a black tube top and a red vest. Chise sported an orange shell, a pair of yellow leaf-like ears and a dark-blue jumpsuit.

"I don't know how you changed clothes like that, but it won't make a difference," the dinosaur taunted before firing more beams.

However, Cho simply dodged to the right while Chise tucked herself into her shell to avoid taking in damage. Luckily, their opponent was a champion, so she was not too overly-powerful for the blond to handle.

And with this in mind, she saw this as a perfect opportunity to make herself worthy of someone like Cho. As such, she rolled toward the dinosaur before the blue-haired girl could do anything. The dinosaur of course did not like this as she send more beams.

Chise dodged with ease and proceeded to ram herself hard into the dinosaur's cheek while shouting, "DIAMOND SHELL!"

The dinosaur's head was forced sideways as Chise wasted no time rolling around to the other side of the Digimon's face after landing. With that, she rammed herself into the other cheek while Cho was simply astounded. Normally Chise would be much more cautious in battle, but this time, she was really taking the initiative.

However, just as quickly as the advantage had come, it seemed to leave when the dinosaur threw her head to the right and rammed her horn hard into the blond. This sent her flying toward a nearby cliff as Cho's eyes widened, Chise quickly retreating from her shell and grabbing hold of the edge.

The dinosaur advanced toward Chise only for Cho to rush in and send a hard punch into her snout. However, the dinosaur ignored the pain and threw head sideways thus using her horn to knock the blue-haired girl into a wall. Seeing as Chise was still hanging for dear life, the dinosaur figured she would not be much of a threat and instead charged toward Cho.

'No!' Chise thought with her eyes wide open, Cho trying to get up when a beam was sent hard into her. This was the second time the blue-haired girl had saved Chise from being killed and almost been killed herself as a result.

'No,' Chise thought while gritting her teeth, 'I won't be a burden anymore! I'll be good enough for Cho even if it kills me! No, I'll be good enough to protect everyone!'

With that, the blond's body started to glow as a yellow armadillo with an orange shell appeared before her in her mind. The girl's eyes widened as the mammal smiled at her and said, "Hello, I'm Armadillomon."

"Armadillomon?" Chise uttered as the Digimon nodded and replied, "That's right. I'm the spirit who lives inside your diamond. Cool, huh?"

The blond had no idea how to respond to that as Armadillomon sighed, "I'm sorry I waited so long to appear before you, but it's just, up until now, I didn't feel like you truly knew what it meant to be a hero. You always felt confident because the others were there to help you, but not once did you ever truly believe that you had what it took to fight Digimon without relying on them. You never thought of what might happen if you were the only one left standing."

Chise let out a sigh and replied, "You're right. Even after becoming a hero, I try to fake it, but I've never truly believed that I was right for this. A part of me felt as if this strong shell was wasted on someone like me. All I ever do is hide in it whenever I'm attacked and hope the Digimon doesn't hurt me if I do so."

"Yes, but just now," Armadillomon stated, "you showed a great deal of resolve. You showed the will to fight even when Cho was weakened to a point where she can barely help you. I think you're more than earned the right to Digivolve."

Chise's eyes sparkled as the mammal added, "But remember, this form doesn't last long, so only call upon this power in dire situations otherwise it won't work."

With that, Chise's form changed. Her jumpsuit shrunk into a tube top while her lower area was covered by a pair of grey shorts with golden metal leg guards instead of regular short legs. Her shoes were replaced by a pair of black and brown boots with lining and padding made of metal with a big spike sticking out of each side. A yellow spiked ring appeared on each of her arms while spiked black iron knuckles formed on her hands. The shell on her head vanished to reveal her hair to still be blond, only now it was spiked. Her ears reverted to normal while a pair of yellow horns shaped like the top halves of half-moons appeared behind them. Finally, her shell had become yellow and scaly with spikes coming out of it and a tail was now attached to her rear end with a spiked metal ball like the kind found on a mace formed on the tip.

Cho stared in absolute amazement as Chise finally pushed herself up so she was no longer hanging off the edge of the cliff. With that, the dinosaur turned toward her and said, "So you changed your look again. Big d-"

She was quickly interrupted when Chise charged at her and spun herself around, ramming her tail into the dinosaur's cheek while shouting, "TAIL HAMMER!"

The dinosaur was shocked when she coughed up blood as a result of this. With that, she swung her horns toward Chise only for the blond to dodge with ease and send her tail into the Digimon's face again. All the while, Cho had a big grin on her face as she cheered for the blond.

Chise could not believe that she managed to pull this off. However, she needed to stay focused on the battle the dinosaur opened her jaws. But just as she was about to chomp down on the blond, Chise quickly tucked in her arms and legs and pointed her shell upward.

While the lower jaws did put a few small holes in her belly, the upper jaws rammed into her shell as the dinosaur's eyes widened. Small cracks formed on the teeth as they shattered after a few seconds, the dinosaur roaring in pain.

Cho wanted to get in on this action, but a part of her did not want to rob Chise of this chance to deal the finishing blow. After all, she seemed to have things perfectly under control.

The dinosaur breathed heavily while looking at the small bits of blood trickling down Chise's tummy as she smirked, saying, "Nice tactic, but I still hit you."

"I know," Chise remarked while doing her best to ignore the pain, "It was worth it to break your teeth. Now it's gonna be hard for you to eat either of us."

The dinosaur scowled before firing beams from her horns. Now that Chise could no longer tuck herself into her shell, it would be a lot more difficult to block them, but the girl managed to do just that as she simply went down on all fours and allowed the beams to hit her shell.

Before the dinosaur could respond to this, the blond proceeded to perform a handstand and propel herself toward the beast. With that, she once again swung her tail around and exclaimed, "TAIL HAMMER!"

This time, she ended hitting the horns and breaking off the tips. The dinosaur's eyes widened as she could no longer use them. And with that, Chise sent one final punch to her face as her body turned into data and floated off into the distance.

Cho grinned wide and gave Chise a thumb up while the blond took a deep breath and gave a light smile back. However, it did not end there are Cho ran over to her and gave her a big hug.

"OH MY GOD, YOU WERE AWESOME!" Cho exclaimed as Chise nodded and said, "I couldn't let you die because of me, Cho. You're the best friend I've ever had."

With that, the girls decided to take a well-deserved rest after returning to normal. Chise turned to Cho and asked, "Hey, remember the conversation we were having before that dinosaur attacked us?"

"Oh yeah, what about it?" Cho asked as Chise sighed, "Well, you were kind of right. When I tried to lift up that rock, I was trying to impress someone. In fact, when I agreed to climb that rock, it was for the same reason."

Cho smirked and replied, "I knew it! So, who is it!?" Chise biting her lip nervously as Cho stared for a few seconds, her eyes widening and her cheeks turning pink.

"Wait, you mean me!?" the blue-haired girl asked with a look of bewilderment as Chise nodded, her whole face now beet red as she squeaked, "Yes! It's true! I don't see you as a great friend! I've been in love with you for a while now and I know this is probably so awkward because you're probably more interested in tough guys and even if you were into girls, I'm such a weakling and a coward and-"

"Calm down," Cho replied with a sweat drop on her cheek, "Look, Chise, you don't have to worry. For starters, I've never had an interest in boys. I may idolize a lot of them, well, those in the wrestling profession, but I've never felt a romantic attachment toward them."

Chise looked at her and asked, "R-R-Really?" as Cho nodded and added, "Also, Chise, you're not a weakling. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. And for what it's worth, I think you're the bravest person I've ever met."

"Okay, now you're just trying to make me feel better!" Chise retorted as Cho shook her head and remarked, "No I'm not. It takes real courage to do what you've been doing since you gained your powers. I mean, you are clearly afraid of everything that we've faced and yet you've always fought alongside us despite that. I think that right there takes real courage."

Chise's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "Wow, I never realized all of that!"

"Well, now you know," Cho replied as Chise gave a bright smile. After that, Cho got closer to her, placed her finger the blond's chin and said, "Oh, and in case you were still wondering, yes," the blue-haired girl leaning forward and planting her lips against Chise's.

The blond's eyes went wide open, her entire face once again turning beet red as she slowly closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the blue-haired girl. The two held the kiss for half-a-minute before letting go.

And with all said and done, it seemed like smooth sailing for the two. But what of the others? What sorts of challenges awaited them? Were they going to be okay?


	23. Chapter 23

While Cho and Chise had certainly wound up in a dangerous location, Asami was having the absolute worst day of her life. Of all the places to be sent, she ended up in a swamp. Sure, Hazuki had been sent there as well, but she did not seem to mind it nearly as much.

The two were travelling through the area with Asami holding her pants up and groaning, "This is positively dreadful! I can't wait to be out of this wretched hive of horrible smells and disgusting slime!"

"While I do think you're being over-dramatic, you have a point," Hazuki replied, "The sooner we reunite with the others, the better."

However, Asami's eyes widened when she ended up stepping in a small green puddle. She looked down and noticed her fancy shoe was now dirty as she cried out in terror.

"You know, if I'm not mistaken, you wanted a more exciting lifestyle, didn't you?" Hazuki asked.

"Well, yes, I did say that," Asami replied, "but this is now what I had in mind. At least when I'm fighting, my clothes aren't technically on me, so I have no reason to worry about them getting dirty."

Hazuki simply rolled her eyes and took a small sip from her bottle. However, after a few seconds, she started chugging the liquid down as Asami quickly snatched it away from her with terror in her eyes.

"Oh my god, thank you, Asami," Hazuki said before noticing both were standing under a big leaf with slime on top of it. And to make matters worse, it proceeded to droop down and drop a bit of its slime on the heads of both girls.

Asami twitched all over and cried, "YOU OWE ME FOR THIS!" before letting out a sigh and groaning, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be such a brat, but I've never been in a swamp before and I never intended on ever setting foot in one."

Hazuki nodded and replied, "It's okay. Honestly, I'm kind of peeved that I have no idea where we are or how we got here."

Asami nodded and sighed, "Yes, that is much more important," before letting down light tears and sniffing, "I miss Akari's optimism! I could use it right now! She'd say something like 'Look on the bright side! At least we're not in an active volcano!'"

The rich girl then blinked and asked, "What happened to you just now, anyway? Before I pulled that bottle away, you liked like a psychopath, no offence."

"I'm not sure," Hazuki replied with a sigh, "I think it's because I'm not used to only taking one or two small sips of blood a day. Before now, I consumed a rather big amount of blood everyday. As such, I think my body expects that."

Asami nodded and replied, "That does make sense. Something I once learned in school is that if you consume a lot of food on a regular basis, your body trains itself to think its hungry even if it isn't. It's probably the same with you."

The goth nodded and stated, "In that case, Asami, I think it might be better if you hold onto the bottle. Only allow me to have one sip in the morning and one mid-afternoon, nothing else."

"Yes, ma'am!" Asami replied with an army salute before placing the bottle in her handbag.

However, while carrying on, Hazuki's eyes widened as she asked, "Do you hear something?" Asami holding her hand up to her ear and nodding in response.

With that, the two sprinted toward the sound to notice a short green frog with a musical horn bound to its neck like a scarf. He was face-to-face with blue sea serpent that had a golden mask covering its face. The frog was releasing a loud noise from his horn as the serpent ignored the sound and released an icy breath toward the amphibian.

"We need to help that poor creature!" Asami exclaimed as Hazuki nodded. With that, the two whipped out their diamonds and transformed.

Asami was once again wearing a red tube top and pair of shorts. She had a belt around her forehead with a feather attached to the back and wore orange shoes that resembled talons. Her arms were also covered in feathers. Hazuki, all the while, had her black tube top and matching speedo along with her back wings coming out of her back.

The frog turned and stared wide-eyed as Hazuki pointed her hands toward the serpent and exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" while she unleashed a burst of black energy.

"FEATHER STRIKE!" Asami shouted as she pried off her feather and hurled it into the serpent's neck like a boomerang. This caused just enough damage to draw blood as the creature cried out in pain.

But just as it seemed the girls had this handled, the frog immediately sent its tongue into the bleeding spot like a fist. This was more than enough to bring down the serpent as it turned into data and flew off into the distance.

"Oh, good job!" Asami exclaimed with a bright smile as Hazuki said, "I'm amazed you of all people would be happy to help a slimy, grotesque frog," a taunting grin on her face.

However, it seemed her attempt at a dirty joke failed when Asami replied in a sophisticated tone, "While it is true that frogs have their skin covered in mucus, I happen to think they are adorable," her eyes sparkling all the while.

Hazuki stared in disbelief, but this was cut off when another frog, this one wearing a tuxedo, stepped out from behind a tree and said, "Well, it is good to know that Seadramon will no longer be a burden to us."

"Yes, that's very true," the other frog replied, "So does that mean I've passed the test?" the one in the tuxedo remarking, "Of course not. You were supposed to be the one to defeat that creature and you alone. Dealing the finishing blow is not good enough."

The other frog stared in stunned silence as the one wearing the tuxedo pulled out a document and cleared his throat before singing, "As stated in this scroll issued by the king, your task was but a simple thing. You were to save us from that wretched beast, but you performed horribly to say the least."

"Oh my god, he's wearing a tuxedo and singing," Asami whispered to Hazuki with a big smile on her face while the goth stared at her with confusion.

"Those fighters over there did most of the work," the tuxedo-wearing frog sang, "Don't take this personally. I'm not being a jerk. You failed the test, failed miserably. You better just give up. Take it from me."

With that, the frog closed the scroll as the other frog glared at the girls. Asami whimpered a bit, feeling horrible to having angered the frog, but at the same time, neither girl knew exactly what was going on.

However, their confusion was cut short when the fancy frog walked over and bowed his head to them. Asami immediately gave a curtsy back as the frog added, "Thank you ever so much for your assistance. I have never seen Digimon like you before, but you have done us a great service. That serpents just came here one day and started causing havoc and we have been trying to rid ourselves of it ever since."

"Glad to have helped," Hazuki replied with a smile before both reverted to normal as the goth added, "though we're not really Digimon. We're actually humans."

"Humans or not, you have still done us a great service," the frog replied, "Please, come with me. You will be given the hero's treatment."

"But what about the other guy over there?" Hazuki asked, "He did sort of help," but just as the tuxedo-wearing frog was about to turn, the other frog had already left the area.

"Well, he decided not to stick around," the amphibian said with a shrug, "Oh well. Let us be off," as Asami nodded and replied, "Oh, this is such a great honour."

And with that, the girls were escorted to a place they never would have expected to find in a swamp, and that was a kingdom. The houses in the town were made of wood and moss while all the walkways were made of big lily pads. The castle, on the other hand, was made of what seemed to be a very nice material as unlike everything else in the swamp, it was bright and colourful. Clearly the best materials available had been used on it.

"Welcome to Gecko Kingdom," the tuxedo-wearing frog stated before giving a bow. He then took a deep breath and released a loud, royal sound with the horn attached to his body.

This drew out an army of various other frogs along with a few purple tadpoles with legs. With that, the frog took a deep breath and stated, "Fellow amphibians, I would like to introduce you to these two brave young women who have ridden us of that horrible beast, Seadramon!"

The amphibians all cheered and clapped as Asami curtsied and said, "It is so nice to meet all of you. I am Asami," Hazuki adding, "And I'm Hazuki."

With that, the frog proceeded to calm the others down before stating, "I do believe a greeting and introduction is in order."

With that, the other amphibians smiled wide as the frog cleared his throat and sounded his horn. Soon, the others followed suit and filled the air with an epic melody that sounded like something from medieval times. The girls, all the while, stared in interest and wondered where this was going.

"We are the Gekomon," the frog sang, "happy and free! We live in perfect harmony! And to you this introduction we shall bring, for the thing we love most is to belt and sing!"

"This kingdom is glorious and grand," sang another while a female next to him added, "Although the smell is one most cannot stand!"

"Yes, it's kind of dirty, yes, it's kind of gross," the Gekomon chanted, "But it's the kind of home that we love most!"

Hazuki was confused by this while Asami looked enchanted, the tadpoles proceeding to sing, "We're the Otamamon, we welcome you! We are loyal, kind and true!"

"We're delighted to have you here!" sang a female when another joined in and added, "In our glorious land, there's nothing to fear!"

With that, all of the amphibians sang, "We welcome you to Swamp Kingdom! Our favourite past time is to sing and dance! We hope you enjoy your stay and perhaps sing with us if you get a chance!"

With that, the music stopped as the Gekomon and Otamamon bowed. Asami applauded the amphibians while Hazuki simply gave them a light clap to avoid being rude.

"That was marvellous, simply marvellous!" Asami exclaimed, "Though it was a little on the short side."

"Well, yes, we prefer to keep our songs as long as they need to be," the Gekomon in the tuxedo explained while Hazuki asked, "So you mean to tell me breaking out into spontaneous song and dance is normal here?"

The Gekomon nodded as Asami gasped, "So it's like living in a musical! Oh, this must be such a fun place to live in!" before sniffing and groaning, "Though I'd prefer it if it didn't smell so fowl."

Hazuki simply shrugged and figured she may as well accept this as the Gekomon told another to lead them into the castle. He then turned to them and said, "Come, ladies. The king would very much like to meet the heroes who saved us all."

"Oh, will there be a feast in our honour?" Asami asked as the Gekomon nodded and replied, "Most certainly?" as Hazuki sighed, "And there will be musical accompaniment, no doubt."

With that, the two were led into the castle. Both were rather amazed by how much better it looked than everything else in the kingdom. As if the outside did not stick out like a diamond in the rough, the inside was gorgeous and clean.

Both were shown into the dining hall where they were seated by a female Gekomon and a male Otamamon. While Asami was enjoying herself, Hazuki was confused about something as she asked, "Hey, Gekomon, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, what is it?" the Gekomon replied as Hazuki asked, "So, do you all have individual names or are you all frogs in the kingdom just called Gekomon? Same question for the Otamamon."

"Oh, we're all called Gekomon," the frog replied, "And yes, the same does go for the Otamamon. That's how it works for all Digimon."

"Doesn't that get confusing?" Hazuki asked as the frog blinked and tilted her head to the right only for the goth to sigh, "Forget it."

At that moment, all went silent when a big red frog with leaves around his neck, two horns sticking out of his shoulders and what looked like a ponytail made of flesh coming out the back of his head and curled upward entered the room. He made his way over to a table that was significantly larger than all the others and took a seat.

"Welcome to our kingdom," the frog said with a grin, "I am King Shogungekomon."

Hazuki and Asami bowed their heads in respect as the king held up a hand and said, "Oh, come now. I should be the one bowing to you for you have ridden us of a horrible, horrible menace."

"Well, to be fair, he wasn't that strong," Hazuki replied with a nervous grin as the king replied, "I admire your modesty, but there is no need for that."

The goth shrugged and decided to accept the praised like Asami already had. Though deep down, she had meant every word of that. Of all the opponents she had faced since she got her new powers, that really was the easiest.

At that moment, another Otamamon entered and took a seat next to the king. She wore a beautiful golden tiara and a pink dress that went with her more tadpole-like build. Asami and Hazuki stared as Shogungekomon stated, "Ah, I would like you to meet my daughter, Princess Otama."

"Otama?" Hazuki asked as the frog explained, "Oh, yes, I decided to remove the 'mon' from the end of her name as a means of distinguishing her from the rest," as the goth nodded and replied, "Now, see, that makes perfect sense. Why doesn't anyone else have a unique name?"*

Once again, her question was ignored as she could swear she heard crickets chirping. Asami, on the other hand, chose not to let the name thing bother her. She was simply enjoying herself too much to care.

"Anyway, without further ado, bring in the feast!" Shogungekomon exclaimed as he clapped his hands.

With that, a group of Otamamon and Gekomon entered while carrying trays of food. With that, they stomped their feet a couple of times before singing, "Inside of this very swamp, there exists a kingdom of wonderful grace! Land of the Gekomon and Otamamon, it truly is an incredible place!"

With that, they proceeded to hand out the trays to those seated while adding, "So please enjoy your stay, we only wish the best! We live to serve our king and princess, but also our honoured guests!"

Asami was clapping along while Hazuki was praying this would not be as frequent as the Geckomon in the tuxedo had made it seem, the amphibians continuing to sing, "In the pit of this very swamp, there is a land of beauty and charm! We guarantee as long as you're here, you'll be safe and will never be harmed! So enjoy our great kingdom, we only wish the best! We live to serve great royalty but also honoured guests!"

With that, the servants performed a quick dance number followed by a twirl. With the song over and done with, they took their leave while Asami clapped wildly and exclaimed, "BRAVO! ANOTHER WONDERFUL SONG! I LOVE IT!"

"Yes, our singing really is top-notch," Shogungekomon replied with a beaming smile on his face, "Well, there is one member of the kingdom whose singing I don't care for, but he'll never set foot in this castle anyway, so we've no reason to worry about him."

Hazuki was a tad curious about these words, especially since Otama had a slightly saddened look on her face after her said it. Though she quickly changed her expression back to one of happiness when her father turned to look at her for a few seconds.

"Now that the food is served, let us feast," the frog stated as the dinner guests all removed the lids from their trays. But while the Gekomon and Otamamon seemed happy with their food, Asami looked like she was going to vomit as everything was made of bugs. She would have been happy with escargot, but they did not have that.

However, Asami did not wish to be rude after receiving such nice treatment and as such, she slowly scooped up what looked like a fly casserole with her fork and put it into her mouth. However, after holding it in her mouth for a few seconds, a smile formed as she chewed on it before swallowing it.

Hazuki stared in shock as the silver-haired girl started to sing, "Oh, what a wondrous meal this is! I've never had anything like this! Who'd ever guess flies could taste so good? Oh, I just love this glorious food!"

Hazuki was even more shocked as Shogungekomon chuckled and replied, "Yes, it is quite delicious, isn't it?" Asami replying, "Yes, this is simply wonderful. However did you get human world bugs here, anyway?"

"It's part of our programming," Shogungekomon replied, "When our creator made us, he also created various different foods that would meet the standards of our species. That way, we wouldn't go around looking for other Digimon as sustenance."

"You realize you just broke out into song, right?" Hazuki asked as Asami nodded and replied, "Hey, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Shogungekomon then noticed Hazuki seemed to have no interest in her food as he asked, "Is something the matter?" the goth replying, "Oh, sorry, but I can't eat this. See, I'm half-vampire, so I can only consume blood."

Some of the Gekomon immediately held their hands up to their necks as the frog blinked and said, "So vampires exist in the human world too. I did not know that."

Soon enough, the meal was over as the king stated, "Well, you two are my honoured guests. As such, you are free to stay here for as long as you like. You may look around the castle or take a stroll through the town. Anything your hearts desire, I will grant."

"Oh, thank you so much," Asami replied, "but we cannot stay."

"She's right," Hazuki replied, glad that the rich girl remembered as she added, "There were originally six of us but something brought us here in the middle of the night. We're trying to find our friends."

"Is that so?" Shogungekomon asked, "Well, say no more. I will send out my flying division to seek them out. That way, you won't have to leave in order to find them."

Asami's eyes sparkled as Hazuki asked, "Flying division?" the frog nodding and replying, "That's right. I know we might look like some primitive, medieval society, but we have the technical know-how and means of which to make some modern technology."

"Well, that does sound easier," Asami stated with a shrug as Hazuki nodded and replied, "Yeah. I guess it'll be okay, but if we don't get any results by tomorrow, we're going. We can't risk sitting around while the others might very well get too far ahead of us."

"Yes, that is a good point," Asami replied as Otama smiled and said, "Make yourselves at home."

With that, Shogungekomon quickly reminded the group that he would need to know what their friends would look like. As such, Asami pulled out her phone and showed him the photos she had taken of the others. The king and his daughter were both rather surprised to see that one of their companions was Leomon. It seemed the lion really was a legend throughout the Digital World.

With that, Asami stretched and said, "Well, I think I shall look around some more," as Shogungekomon and Otama got up to head to their quarters.

However, just as Asami was about to leave, a Gekomon wearing a suit of armour entered and asked, "Oh, blast it, did I already miss the king?"

"Oh, yes, dreadfully sorry," Asami replied with a shrug as the frog sighed, "Oh well, my news for him isn't urgent anyway. It's just a message from..." his eyes widening when he gazed upon Asami and uttered, "another... kingdom."

"Are you alright?" Asami asked as the Gekomon knelt down on one knee and held his hand out while singing, "Look at your beauty! Your eyes, how they glow! Your hair is like silver! Oh, I just gotta know!"

Asami stared nervously as Hazuki was simply shocked, the Gekomon adding, "Can you hear what I say? I tell you this is true! I have never met someone who is as lovely as you!"

The frog then took a bow and sang, "Welcome to our land!" as Asami chuckled and blushed bright before saying, "Oh, it's true, I really am quite lovely, aren't I?"

Hazuki was still taken aback by this as the Gekomon cleared his throat and stated, "I am the general of the knights. You may call me Sir Gekomon."

"Well, it is very nice to meet you," Asami replied with a curtsy, "I am Asami."

"Such a beautiful name," Sir Gekomon replied, "Would you like a tour of the castle?"

"Oh yes," Asami replied with a nod of her head, Hazuki still surprised by all of this as the Sir Gekomon stated, "Well, in that case, follow me."

With that, the frog started leading Asami through the castle while Hazuki blinked and uttered, "She does know that guy was flirting with her, right? Am I the only one freaked out by all of this?"

In fact, it seemed ever since the two set foot in the kingdom, Asami's entire personality had changed. She was no longer repulsed by the swamp and now she was running off with an amphibian who clearly had a thing for her. She at least hoped the silver-haired girl would be okay by the end of all this.

Still, as long as the goth was staying here, she figured she would check out a bit of the town. Unlike Asami, she did not mind the swamp air or the water too much and as such, she did not mind being outside.

However, as she made her exit, she noticed a certain Gekomon sitting on a log. He was looking down at the water and had his chin resting on his hands. The goth could tell it was him as he was the only Gekomon not wearing some article of clothing to distinguish himself from the others.

Seeing this, Hazuki walked over with concern and said, "Hey, you're the guy from earlier."

The frog looked up and growled before pointing at the goth and shouting, "YOU!"

Hazuki's eyes widened with shock. She had no idea what this frog had against her, but whatever it was, it must have been serious.

Note: *This is just something I've always kind of wondered about since I was a kid.


	24. Chapter 24

Hazuki could not believe the day she was having. First Asami had turned into a nutcase and now she was being yelled at by the very creature she had saved earlier. What was up with this kingdom? It seemed she was the only sane one left.

Even so, the goth took a deep breath and snapped, "Hey, what's your problem, buddy!? I noticed you looked annoyed earlier too! Is that how you thank someone who saved your life!?"

"You don't get it, do you!?" the Gekomon retorted, "You've pretty much ruined my future with your meddling!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Hazuki asked as the frog looked down and sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. You're not even from the Digital World and yet I'm expecting you to know everything."

The goth was curious now as she took a seat next to him on the log and asked, "So, what's going on?"

"Look, I feel bad enough for snapping at you," the frog replied, "I don't want to make you pity me too."

"Hey, I got nothing else to do right now," Hazuki replied with a light smile, "Besides, if you tell someone, it might help you feel better."

The Gekomon took a deep breath and sighed, "Well, if you're really that curious, I'll tell you. See, it all started a few days ago when I found true love."

Hazuki was glad he was not going to sing about it as he added, "See, I was out and about collecting some bugs for dinner when I noticed the princess was out for a simple stroll. However, things took a bad turn when suddenly, an infected Digimon seemed to have made its way into our kingdom as it attacked her. I immediately jumped to her defence."

"Wow, you saved Otama's life?" Hazuki asked as the Gekomon shook his head and sighed, "No. I got my butt handed to me. But luckily, the royal guard came in and scared it off."

"Oh, well, at least things turned out well," the goth replied with a grin as the frog nodded and replied, "Well, it actually turned out better than that."

A goofy grin formed on his face as he added, "See, the minute we locked eyes, we both fell in love. I wanted to ask her out on a date, but, well, I didn't think she'd go for a lowly peasant like me. But much to my surprise, it was Otama who asked me out."

"Aw, that's sweet," Hazuki replied with a big smile before looking down and asking, "Let me guess, the king didn't approve, right?"

"Actually, his highness was okay with it," the Gekomon replied, "He figured that if his daughter truly loved me, so be it. In fact, he didn't even wait for us to go on our first date. He set up a wedding to take place two days later, or in other words, yesterday."

"So what happened?" the goth asked as the frog sighed, "This is where it all went wrong. See, because song and dance is such a big deal here, we have a tradition in which the groom has to sing his wedding vows. I had a perfect song prepared straight from the heart. I just knew I had written down the greatest wedding vows ever."

"And you mean to tell me the king didn't approve?" Hazuki asked, "Or did you choke?"

"No, there was another issue," the Gekomon replied, "See, this is something I've never been happy with. While everyone else in Swamp Kingdom has a wonderful singing voice, I don't. My singing is terrible. I sing with a lisp and my voice cracks whenever I hit a high note. In fact, I spent the entire previous day practising so that maybe, just maybe my voice would compliment the song perfectly."

"And you still sounded the same?" Hazuki asked as the Gekomon nodded and sighed, "Unfortunately, King Shogungekomon does not wish for his daughter to marry someone who can't sing. As such, he took back his blessing and forbade me from seeing his daughter. Though he did change his mind and decide I could still be her friend after Otama guilt-tripped him into it."

"Wow, that's one of the saddest stories I've ever heard," Hazuki replied with a light tear in her eyes, "But what exactly does that have to do with the serpent?"

"Well, you see, that was the Digimon who attacked her the day we met," the Gekomon replied, "After being rejected by the king, I struck a deal with him. He agreed that if I could kill Seadramon by myself, I could marry Otama. And unfortunately, since you and your friend came in and helped me, well, it's never going to happen."

The Gekomon let down light tears and sniffed as Hazuki reached her hand over to him. Unlike Asami when she was being normal, Hazuki was not the least bit intimidated by a frog's skin and as such, she gave the poor frog a hug.

"I'm so sorry," she said with more tears in her eyes, "If we knew about that, we wouldn't have interfered."

"It's not your fault," the Gekomon replied with a sigh, "Besides, I would have been killed by that thing if you hadn't stepped in anyway. I guess marrying the princess wasn't meant to be."

With that, the amphibian proceeded to look up at the sky before singing, "When I look up, I see you looking down on me," Hazuki covering her ears as the frog turned to her, the goth laughing nervously and saying, "Go on. Don't mind me."

"Told you it was horrible," the Gekomon replied before continuing to sing, "I keep telling myself that we are truly meant to be. But I'm a fool, I am weak. I am not the man you seek. You deserve a handsome prince with a beautiful voice!"

His voice then cracked as Hazuki stared wide-eyed briefly. However, she quickly hid the pain it had dealt to her ears as the Gekomon added, "Whatever led you to think that life with me was the right choice?"

Hazuki then remembered how Asami had given her in the 'When in Rome' statement earlier and took a deep breath, sighing, "I can't believe I'm going this," the goth then singing, "She clearly sees something in you, something no one understands. She clearly gets a happy feeling when you two are holding hands."

The Gekomon snickered and said, "Wow, you sound monotone as can be," as Hazuki chuckled and added, "You should keep trying. Don't give up on her. You two are meant to be together."

"Maybe you're right," the Gekomon replied, "Perhaps it's destiny! Maybe we are truly meant to be!" his voice cracking again as Hazuki ignored the loud noise and sang, "Don't lose faith, it will work. I will help you out."

"And together," the amphibian added, "we can sway his mind and win her hand without a doubt."

Hazuki blinked and asked, "Wow, did I really just ad-lib all of that? I think I'm starting to understand why your kind likes doing that so much."

All the while, Asami had been shown around the entire castle thanks to Sir Gekomon. However, she was forbidden from entering both the princess and king's chambers, but she understood that entirely. And along the way, she had taken the time to explain why she and Hazuki were in Swamp Kingdom in the first place.

"Well, that sounds awful," the knight said, "I couldn't imagine being separated from my allies. But I am certain our flying division will find them soon. Though it is quite strange. I've never actually met the flying division before."

"That is odd," Asami replied with a shrug before sighing, "Even so, I do feel bad. I mean, here I am enjoying the luxuries of your kingdom while my friends are out there probably worrying about Hazuki and I. I feel like maybe I should be out there looking for them."

"In that case, you should take me with you," Sir Gekomon replied with a serious look in his eyes.

"Are you certain about that?" Asami asked as the frog nodded and replied, "As a knight, I simply cannot allow a beautiful maiden such as yourself to brave such a harsh and cruel world. I know this swamp like the inside of my armour."

"My, how noble of you," Asami replied as her eyes sparkled, "I guess we could use a good helping hand. You are ever-so-generous."

The frog nodded and replied, "I must talk it over with the king first, though. After all, I am his general and I would need his permission to leave the kingdom."

Asami nodded her head in understanding as the knight walked out of the area. And at that very moment, Hazuki appeared behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, telling the rich girl to join her outside.

She did just that as the Gekomon without clothes was waiting for the two. Upon seeing him, Asami smiled and said, "Oh, you're the one we saved earlier."

The frog would have snapped at her if he had not already taken out all of his frustration on Hazuki. And with that, the two explained his marital situation with Asami as the silver-haired girl gasped.

"So basically, we robbed him of the solution to his problem," Hazuki stated as Asami looked at the Gekomon with concern and said, "I am so sorry. If only I had known. No wonder you looked so angry."

"Look, it's fine," the Gekomon replied, "I know you were only trying to help, but even so, I'm not giving up."

"Well, good for you!" Asami exclaimed with a big smile before sporting a frustrated look and folding her arms.

"But seriously, the nerve of that Shogungekomon!" the silver-haired girl exclaimed, "I don't care if he is the king! What right does he have to stop true love over such a trivial matter!?"

"Wow, you really understand how unfair this is," Hazuki said as Asami nodded and replied, "Of course. I know I seem like the shallow type, but I'm not. If I decide to marry someone, it will be someone I love. I don't care if his speaking voice annoys me to no end. He could naturally smell like a pile of manure, he could have the most grotesque face, he could wear the most vulgar of clothing. But if I truly love him, none of that would matter to me."

"Wow," Hazuki uttered, "You continue to surprise me more and more everyday."

The Gekomon all the while was letting down light tears as he sniffed, "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

"Oh, it is no trouble at all," Asami replied before asking, "So, what exactly is your plan? I was thinking we should have a word with the king."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking," Hazuki stated as the Gekomon stared wide-eyed and remarked, "Are you serious?"

"Look, Gekomon, if you accept what Shogungekomon thinks of you, he'll think you're just some weakling looking to get under his daughter's dress," Hazuki stated as the frog and Asami stared wide-eyed, the goth adding, "You need to show him that you're a real man, that you are perfect for his daughter! We'll be there to back you up!"

The Gekomon took a deep breath and replied, "Yes, you're right. I need to show him just how serious I am about this!"

With that, the group headed inside when suddenly, Sir Gekomon appeared before Asami and pointed his hand forward before singing, "Dearest Asami, it has been done! The king has agreed, it seems we've won!"

Asami's eyes sparkled as Hazuki asked, "Agreed to what?"

"Oh, well, I simply couldn't sit around and let this flying division do all the searching," Asami replied, "I figured it would be better if we just head out and Sir Gekomon agreed to join us in our quest. After all, he knows his way through the swamp and he's a knight.

Hazuki's eyes widened as she replied, "Wow, that's great. Good job Asami," the unclothed Gekomon's eyes widening as Asami stated, "We'll hold off our departure until your problem is resolved, don't worry."

"Wow, I was starting to think you didn't care about that anymore," Hazuki replied as Asami asked, "Why would that be?"

Sir Gekomon was also curious as the goth stated, "Well, since we came here, you haven't really been yourself. You're able to tolerate all these things you normally hate, you have no problem eating bugs and you don't seem like the frog-loving type to me. I figured maybe this entire area was messing with your mind or something."

Both Gekomon were even more confused as Asami chuckled and replied, "Oh, I know, this does not seem like me, but I am still myself. It's like I said earlier, if I love something, appearance and smell hardly matter to me. It's just, this place is so lively and fun, so it was hard for me to think about leaving."

"Oh, so you were legitimately enjoying yourself," Hazuki replied as the rich girl added, "I also was not lying when I said I find frogs adorable. I can't help it. They're just so cute!" Sir Gekomon blushing all the while.

"And seriously, it's a shame you can't eat anything but blood," Asami added, the frogs going wide-eyed as she turned to them and added, "She's half-vampire," before turning back to Hazuki and saying, "I was not kidding. That fly casserole was simply divine."

"Oh, you've had that?" the Gekomon without clothes asked, "I remember my first time having fly casserole. It's good stuff, especially with the addition of cheese and liquified escargot."

"There's escargot in it?" Asami asked, "No wonder if was so delectable! I simply love escargot!"

"A woman after my own heart," Sir Gekomon sighed and he knelt down on one knee, looked into Asami's eyes and added, "Our wedding will be glorious!"

"Wedding!?" Asami remarked as the knight sang, "The Gekomon will sing of the binding of our hearts!"

"Hold it!" the silver-haired girl exclaimed as she sighed, "I had a feeling this was going on, but I really hoped it wasn't."

"Whatever do you mean?" Sir Gekomon asked as Asami replied, "Look, Sir Gekomon, you are a nice man, but you are simply not my type. You seem like a good friend, but I cannot marry you. I am a human and you are a frog."

"What was that about you not discriminating against appearances?" Hazuki asked as Asami chuckled and replied, "Oh, silly Asami. That logic only applies to humans!"

"It figures," Hazuki sighed as Sir Gekomon protested, "But King Shogungekomon said I could only go with you if we marry today! He cannot give up one of his soldiers unless he is bound to the one he is leaving the kingdom with!"

Asami took a deep breath and replied, "I am sorry, Sir Gekomon, but it isn't meant to be," the two then carrying on as Hazuki chuckled and stated, "You know, for a second there, I was starting to worry about you again."

Sir Gekomon took a deep breath and decided to follow close behind anyway. He did not feel malice or spite toward Asami, but he still wanted to at least look at her some more before she and Hazuki took their leave.

With that, the girls headed toward the door to Shogungekomon's chambers. But just as Hazuki was about to reach for the door, Asami replied, "Hold on, we are not allowed to enter without an appointment. I almost forgot about that."

The unclothed Gekomon let out a sigh and groaned, "Well, thanks anyway."

But just as he was about to exit the castle, his eyes widened when he noticed Otama in the middle of the hallway. The princess' eyes sparkled, a big smile forming on her face as she exclaimed, "GEKOMON!"

"Otama?" the Gekomon asked as the tadpole ran leaped at him and held him in a tight embrace. Hazuki and Asami both smiled sweetly as Otama started to shower him in kisses. Unfortunately, it did not last long as she suddenly remembered she was not allowed to have romantic thoughts about him and let go of him.

"Sorry," she sighed as the Gekomon smiled wide and replied, "It's fine. I didn't think I'd get to feel that again."

"I missed you so much," Otama said with a sigh while Sir Gekomon watched this and bit his lower lip. He and the entire kingdom knew about how Shogungekomon had called off their wedding. After all, it was a matter involving the princess. However, seeing just how close the two were even after all of that made him feel as if maybe Shogungekomon was wrong to make such judgement.

Once her excitement died down a bit, Otama looked at the Gekomon with concern and asked, "So why are you here?" the frog replying, "Well, we're still allowed to be friends, so it's not like I'm forbidden from being in here. But that's not my only reason."

The tadpole nodded and asked, "So what's the other reason?" as Asami nodded and said, "Go on, tell her. Pour your heart out."

The Gekomon took a deep breath and went down on one knee before singing, "When I look up, I see you looking down on me," the frog wincing as Otama nodded and replied, "Continue. I don't mind."

The frog nodded and added, "I keep telling myself that we are truly meant to be."

Bad singing aside, even Sir Gekomon was getting emotional right now as the other Gekomon sang, "But I'm a fool, I am weak. I am not the man you seek."

Otama then took his hands and replied, "That couldn't be farther from the truth, my love!" the two gazing into each-other's eyes before the Gekomon sang, "You're my angel, you're a dove!"

Asami covered her ears in response to the cracked high note while Otama let down a light tear before singing, "I've always seen something deep inside you, something no one understands. I get a feeling of joy and clarity every time we hold hands."

Then with that, both amphibians smiled bright and sang, "The others may not get it, but it is plain to see, you and I were simply meant to be!" the two then sharing a long kiss as Hazuki sighed, "You know, I think I'm starting to warm up to the whole singing deal here. It gets across so many emotions mere talking could never pull off."

"And to think, people complain about this kind of thing being too unrealistic while a person surviving an explosion at point-blank is apparently plausible," Asami added with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Anyway, we're gonna talk to your father and convince him to change his mind," the Gekomon explained while Otama nodded and replied, "I'll join you. He'll let you into his chambers if you're with me."

With that, Otama opened the door as Shogungekomon blinked and said, "Oh, hi sweetie. What do you want?"

"There are some people who wish to see you, Father," Otama replied as the frog nodded and replied, "Well, let them in."

However, his curiosity became a hint of delight when he saw Asami and Hazuki enter. However, that was quickly replaced by annoyance when he saw the Gekomon among them.

"Excuse me, but what are YOU doing in my chambers!?" the frog exclaimed as Otama asked, "But Father, did you not say that he could still see me?"

"Well, yes, he can still be your friend," Shogungekomon replied, "but I never said he could affiliate himself with me. You're lucky I don't execute you for that terrible voice of yours."

The Gekomon gulped in fear when Hazuki and Asami both patted him on the shoulder. Asami did not even seem to care that she now had body mucus on her hand as she gave him a thumb up.

"Right," the frog uttered before taking a deep breath and glaring at the king before barking, "I know you don't like this, but I am in love with your daughter and she is in love with me! I don't think you have the right to take that away from us just because of how I was born!"

Shogungekomon rose an eyebrow as Hazuki sighed, "I mean no disrespect, but he's right. The way you're going about this is all wrong. Have you even thought about how your daughter feels about this? At the dinner table, I could see the sadness on her face and how she was trying to hide it!"

"Yes, I must agree," Asami added, "Appearances, voices and what-not really should not matter. What matters is what's inside, and this Gekomon has possibly the biggest heart of anyone here!"

Sir Gekomon had been listening this whole time. He was falling in love with Asami even more and developing quite a bit of respect for the others.

"Okay, I have changed my mind," Shogungekomon stated with a look of sophistication on his face.

The Gekomon and Otama both smiled and asked, "Really!?" as the frog nodded and pointed angrily at the green frog before him and snapped, "You are no longer allowed near by daughter! That means you cannot be her friend nor will you be permitted to so much as gaze upon her!"

"But father!" Otama protested as the frog turned to Asami and exclaimed, "I also changed my mind about you! You are a human therefor you will not be permitted to marry Sir Gekomon, meaning you won't be going anywhere!"

"That's fine," the rich girl replied with a shrug, "I turned him down anyway."

Sir Gekomon looked down as Shogungekomon laughed and sighed, "Well, at least you're cooperating," Hazuki cutting in and asking, "Wait, what do you mean we're not going anywhere? You did say we could leave tomorrow if no results came up, right?"

"Well, I changed my mind!" the red frog retorted, "And if you try to leave, I'll lock you in the dungeon!"

"Father!" Otama retorted with a look of fear in her expression, "Why are you doing this!? They're whole mission is to save the Digital World, is it not!?"

"Powers or no powers, no one can stop the master!" Shogungekomon snapped before gulping and staring awkwardly at the group, the area now silent.

"The master?" Hazuki asked as Asami gasped, "Do you mean to tell me that you are working for that horrible virus!?"

The frog had no idea how to respond to this as Sir Gekomon's eyes widened. No, it could not be true, could it? And needless to say, everyone else was shocked to hear this.

"Father?" Otama asked with concern as the frog took a deep breath and sighed, "Fine, I admit it. That virus is planning to infect everyone. I couldn't let him do it, so I swore eternal allegiance to him and in exchange, he promised to leave our kingdom alone.

Otama let down lights tears as Shogungekomon continued, "He sent me a message earlier from one of his agents that two of the heroes Ophanimon summoned would be coming to this area. When you two were brought straight to me, things went even better than planned."

"There is no flying division, is there?" Asami uttered as Shogungekomon nodded and sighed, "I had no intention of letting you go. In fact, you two were going to be executed in the middle of the night. But unfortunately, you now know my secret, so I can't let you stay here any longer."

With that, the frog rose to his feet while Otama protested, "But Father, you don't have to do this! We can help them fight the virus!"

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME!?" the king retorted with fury in his expression, "It's impossible! Even the mightiest mega level Digimon cannot defeat him! What chance do we have!?"

Asami and Hazuki gritted their teeth as the Gekomon simply bit his lower lip. Otama was not even sure how to react to this as Hazuki turned to her and said, "I'm sorry to say this, princess, but we're going to have to stop your Dad."

But would Otama really be okay with this? And just how powerful was this king? Either way, this was certainly a turn for the worse.


	25. Chapter 25

Just as things were starting to look good, they quickly went bad. All this time, Shogungekomon had been working for the virus and now he intended on taking Asami and Hazuki down. What else could go wrong today?

Well, whatever lay ahead, there was no way the girls were going to let this slide. As such, they immediately whipped out their diamonds and transformed. Sir Gekomon and Otama stared in absolute shock. Sure, Otama knew they had these powers, but it was still a sight to behold.

"This is the power that was supposed to defeat the virus?" the king asked tauntingly, "Are you serious? A rookie and a champion?"

"Hey, don't underestimate us!" Hazuki exclaimed as the unclothed Gekomon quickly took hold of Otama's hand and said, "We should probably leave this to them."

The princess nodded and sighed while she followed him to a safe area. She still could not believe that her father had chosen to walk this path.

Shogungekomon let out a loud battle cry before letting out a loud noise from his horns and unleashed big sound waves. However, the girls managed to dodge them as Hazuki exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" and sent a burst of dark energy into the frog's belly. Asami added to the damage by hurling her feather into the same spot and shouting, "FEATHER STRIKE!"

"My word, she has the power of a Digimon," Sir Gekomon uttered in a voice quiet enough for the others not to hear.

But as impressive as this was to behold, it did not seem all that effective. Shogungekomon only took in a small graze from Hazuki's attack, but due to his immense size and weight, this did not even faze him. With that in mind, the frog proceeded to leap toward them.

Just as the frog was about to strike, Sir Gekomon rushed in and lashed out his tongue, ramming it hard into Shogungekomon's belly. Unlike the other Gekomon, the knight had a spearhead on the end of his tongue as opposed to a regular tip with three holes in it.

However, while this certainly made the attack more painful, it hardly did a thing as the Shogungekomon turned toward Sir Gekomon and smacked him hard with the back of his hand. This sent him flying into a wall as he groaned in pain.

"Are you alright, Sir Gekomon?" Otama asked with concern as the knight rubbed his head and groaned, "Yes, I am fine. I just need a little rest."

"You would harm your own general without a second thought!?" Asami exclaimed, "Have you no shame!?"

"It's nothing personal!" Shogungekomon retorted, "I can't have anyone getting in my way! My duty was to make sure you would never make it to the virus' home and I'm going to do as he says for the sake of my kingdom!"

The unclothed Gekomon simply trembled and tried to put on a brave face. But just as he was about to step forward, Otama took hold of his wrist and shook her head. She did not wish for him to get hurt like the knight.

However, it did seem like the girls would need help for sure. Each one dished out her other attacks but none of them got so much as a reaction out of the king. Needless to say, this was not looking good.

"Is that it?" Shogungekomon asked, "And to think, Ophanimon truly believes you can defeat the virus! If anything, all you're doing is proving me right!"

"Oh, shut up!" Asami retorted, "If the others were here, you'd be in so much pain right now, you'd be eating your words with a side of bruises!"

"Was that supposed to sound cool?" Hazuki asked as the rich girl replied, "Why? Did it not sound cool enough?"

Shogungekomon simply rolled his eyes at this before sending a hard sweep kick into both girls, sending them careening into the wall. After that, he proceeded to unleash the sound waves from his horns again. Since the girls were still recovering from the kick, they were unable to dodge as they cried out in pain.

"NO!" the unclothed Gekomon exclaimed before sending a loud noise of his own into Shogungekomon's cheek. Otama gasped as this proved ineffective, the king turning toward the frog with a sneer.

"You are a royal pain!" Shogungekomon exclaimed, but just as he was about to lift his foot to stomp on him, Otama got in the way and spread out her arms, shouting, "If you're going to take his life, then take mine too!"

The king stopped, his eyes wide open as the Gekomon uttered, "Otama, don't do this. It's not worth it."

"He's right, it really isn't," Shogungekomon stated as Otama shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she spat, "I WON'T LET YOU KILL HIM! GEKOMON IS MY TRUE LOVE!"

Suddenly, the king's attention turned away from the two when Asami's body glowed, the silver-haired girl gritting her teeth and shouting, "YOU WILL RUE THIS DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"

With that, the girl Digivolved into her champion form. Her wings switched from her arms to her back and tripled in size. Black horns formed on the sides of her head and her clothes were replaced by a red tube top and stockings with only one leg. She had a scarf made of white feathers around her shoulders and tail feathers.

"You changed into a champion?" Shogungekomon asked, his eyes wide, "You can Digivolve?"

"That's right!" Asami exclaimed, "You're going to wish you never picked a fight with us!"

With that, the girl sent ring-shaped beams into the frog's face and shouted, "BLAST RINGS!" the king closing his eyes in response. The rich girls took full advantage of this as she soared toward him and barked, "GRAND HORN!" ramming her horns hard into his forehead.

However, despite her increase in power, Shogungekomon still only took in minor damage. As such, he ignored the pain and smirked before raising his arm up and grabbing hold of the girl.

"OH NO!" the Gekomon and Otama gasped as the king proceeded to hurl her hard into the ground. Hazuki soared toward him with her claws outreached only to receive a back-hand to the face and fly hard into the wall again.

"You see that!?" Shogungekomon spat, "Even with the power of a champion, you still can't beat me! Just give up on your entire quest!"

With the girls once again feeling weak, Shogungekomon leaped high into the air with his rear end heading toward Asami. But just as he was about to land, Sir Gekomon fully recovered from the pain dealt to him early and sprinted over to the rich girl, shoving her out of the way.

Unfortunately, this put the knight in the worst spot he could have been in as Shogungekomon ended up landing on him. Asami gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth while Sir Gekomon was being crushed under the king's weight.

The others were also horror-struck as the knight chuckled and uttered, "Before I leave this world, I just have to say... it was nice seeing you in your champion form. You look even more majestic than the real Aquilamon."

With that, the frog passed out as his body turned into data and flew out of the area. Otama bit her lower lip and let down tears while the unclothed Gekomon looked down with a sad expression. Hazuki could not believe her eyes, but despite having no romantic feelings toward him, Asami still could not help but feel awful about this.

With that, she gritted her teeth with light tears lingering on the bottoms of her eyes and spat, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YOU MONSTER!"

With that, the rich girl's body glowed once again as her form changed for the third time. Her wings became slightly bigger and sprouted yellow feathers on the edges. Her shoes vanished and were replaced by yellow ones with red stripes. Her stockings disappeared in exchange for a pair of black and red shorts. Over her shorts appeared a skirt made of red feathers tied to her waist by a red cloth. A few feathers stuck out of her shoulders as two red arm bands formed on each arm. Rings of the same colour formed on the fingers of her left hand as her hair grew longer and had a ponytail on the end. Two long locks hung in front of her ears and went down past her chest. To top it all off, a red headband formed around her temple and a big feather with a yellow tip stuck out of the side of her hair.

The others stared in stunned silence as Asami had reached her ultimate level. The girl would have stopped to admire herself but right now, she was too angry to focus on such a thing. All the while, Shogungekomon was beyond irritated.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you!?" the frog spat as he unleashed sound waves from his horns again.

However, Asami was prepared for this as she shouted, "CRIMSON CLAW!" her entire body engulfed in flame as she soared toward the frog at incredible speed. Once close enough, she formed a set of claws on her fingers and used them to strike Shogungekomon's chest as a small cut formed.

"FIRE HURRICANE!" Asami shouted while spreading out her arms and spinning around like a top. As the name implied, this caused a tornado of flames to form around her as she launched it toward Shogungekomon, the king crying out in pain.

Shogungekomon was not going to give up so easily, though. After all, he was cold-blooded, so extreme heat should not have been such a big deal to him.

However, just as he recovered, he noticed that Hazuki had also become her ultimate form, the form of a pale vampire sporting a fancy blue suit. Before he could even respond, she had already launched a series of bats to circle his head and distract him.

"Thank you kindly," Asami said with a light smile before shouting, "WING BLADE!" before flapping her wings rapidly and creating a vacuum blade from the flames she emitted. This put quite a few cuts on Shogungekomon's body as he now felt too weak to fight back.

"Oh my god," he uttered, "before you could barely do a thing and now you're practically unstoppable."

"Yes, now you see how strong we really are," Asami stated with a serious look in her eyes, "There is a reason my friends and I were able to stop Beelzemon!"

Otama, all the while, was frightened as the king sighed, "Well, fine, finish me off already!" as Asami gritted her teeth and readied her claws. She wanted so desperately to kill the frog for what he had done. He had killed her new friend and made his own daughter suffer because of what she saw as a stupid tradition.

But just as Otama was about protest against this, it seemed she had no need to speak up as Asami lowered her arms, cleared her throat and said, "No."

"No?" Shogungekomon retorted as the rich girl nodded and stated, "My friend Akari would never approve of this. You may have tried to kill us, but you were being manipulated. You only did what you felt was right."

Hazuki took a deep breath as the rich girl added, "You might not think it possible, and believe you me, I'm not even one-hundred percent sure we can stop this virus. But we refuse to give up without a fight."

"You speak with much wisdom," Shogungekomon replied with a bow of his head, "I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused. I will not hold you back any longer."

"Thank you so much," Asami replied with a curtsey as Otama asked, "But father, shouldn't we at least escort them through the swamp?"

"Yes, that's a good idea," the king replied, "I'll have the royal guard help you out."

He then turned to his daughter and the unclothed Gekomon and added, "Also, I was wrong about another matter. I should have never gotten in the way of your love like that. That man of yours may have the worst singing voice I have ever heard, but what right have I to stand in the way of true love?"

"Thank you so much, father!" Otama exclaimed before hugging the red frog's leg. The Gekomon smiled wide and said, "Thank you so very much," before giving a bow.

And with that, it seemed all had turned out well. The king told his subjects of his allegiance with the virus and swore that never again would he even think of serving the side of evil. And with that, the girls were escorted through the swamp toward the exit where they would hopefully reunite with their friends.

Otama and the Gekomon both waved goodbye to the girls who happily waved back and said a cheerful goodbye. Asami, especially, felt more than happy to have helped them get together.

But of course, while they were being escorted, the Gekomon guards all marched forward while singing, "We are off on our way to tomorrow, and tomorrow is a brighter day! The sun shines high upon us all and things are sure to go our way!"

Hazuki simply rolled her eyes and sang, "I have to say this was rather strange, the strangest we've ever faced."

"But it was also rewarding," Asami added, "Now we march on at a steady pace!"

"We are off on our way to tomorrow!" the Gekomon chanted, "and tomorrow is a brighter day! The sun shines high upon us all and things will surely go our way!"

But there was still one more story to clear up. What exactly had Akari and Leomon been doing this whole time?

While the other four girls were dealing with their own problems, Akari and Leomon had been wandering around a desert. Needless to say, this was a nightmare for the lion due to his fur coat and shaggy mane. But as a Digimon full of pride, he did all he could to hide this fact.

Akari turned to him and asked, "Are you okay, Leomon?" sweat pouring down the lion's face as he replied, "Yes, I am fine. The important thing is that we reunite with the others."

The redhead nodded and smiled wide in the hopes that it would help things. After all, even with everything that had happened up to this point, she would always try to look on the bright side.

However, their silence ended when Akari heard a panting sound coming from her handbag along with a bit of munching. The girl blinked as Leomon's eyes widened with shock. The lion reached for his sword while Akari set the bag down and slowly opened it, hoping there was nothing dangerous inside.

However, her fear turned to shock when she noticed a small purple ball-like Digimon munching on some of her fruit. Leomon blinked in stunned silence while a big smile crossed Akari's face.

"Hello, Kiimon!" the girl squealed as the baby turned to her with a big smile, the redhead cooing, "What are you doing in my bag, you silly Willy? Did you want to hang out with me?"

The baby then leapt into her arms and nuzzled up against her cheek as Leomon stated, "Akari, you're being far too encourageable right now. He shouldn't have been in your bag to begin with. Lekismon must be really worried."

"You're right," Akari replied as her smile left her, "Kiimon, as much as I like your company, you shouldn't be here."

"Alright, Akari, once we reunite with the others, I'll go back to Primary Village and return Kiimon while you and your friends head onward toward the virus' location," Leomon stated, "As for now, that kid should stay in your bag in case we're attacked."

"That sounds like a good plan," Akari replied, "But how will we know where the virus is? And how you will find your way back to Primary Village?"

"Those are both good questions," Leomon replied, "For finding my way back to Primary Village, as you know, I've scoured the Digital World before, so luckily for you, I know where we are and where Primary Village is from here. As for how you will find your way, I will simply make a map for you to follow."

"Okay," Akari replied with a big smile, "You've thought of everything! I don't know what I'd do without you!"

The lion blushed slightly as he replied, "Well, it is my duty to assist you girls in any way I can. Now let's go," Akari nodding before holding Kiimon in front of her face and asking, "Will you be a good boy and stay in my bag for safety?"

The baby nodded and jumped into the bag as Leomon said, "Amazing. Lekismon said he couldn't get along with anyone and yet he listens to you. That is certainly a good thing."

Akari nodded and asked, "So, where to, Mister Leomon, sir?" the lion replying, "There are two options. One is more direct and is therefor faster while the other is more scenic and convenient. If we head due North, we should be out of the desert within four hours. But if we head East a few miles then head North, we will reach a small village in less than an hour where we can rest up and possibly get some water."

Akari nodded and looked at Leomon. Sure, she knew if she were to ask for his input, he would choose North, but his eyes told her he wanted to take the scenic route and get some water as soon as possible. With that in mind, Akari suggested that way, stating that a pit stop would help them survive the desert. After all, four hours of walking was a long time, especially in scorching heat.

"That is definitely a good point," Leomon replied, "Very well, we shall go to the village. But we should only stay for a little while. Heading East will lengthen the trip by quite a bit."

"Understood," Akari replied as the two moved onward, the redhead asking, "By the way, are there any Digimon who might attack us out here?"

"Well," Leomon replied, "the odds of us running into an infected Digimon are slim as we're still within the first quarter of the Digital World. But there are some hostile Digimon out here. Like in your world, there are some who need to hunt other Digimon for food, and I am certain human flesh is not off of their menu, so be careful."

"Okay," Akari replied before patting the side of her bag and adding, "I'm more worried about Kiimon, though."

"That's why he shouldn't be out here," Leomon sighed, "It's far too dangerous for a baby. I really hope we don't run into any Scorpiomon out here."

"Scorpiomon?" Akari asked with a big smile, "We don't have to worry about that. We fought that Digimon in our world. He's probably still in his original baby form right now."

"There's something you need to know about our world," Leomon replied when suddenly, a rumbling could be heard as two giant scorpions appeared, glaring at the duo as Akari trembled, the lion sighing, "Each Digimon's name is its species. That means it's possible for more than one to exist. Some Digimon like me are one-of-a-kind, but those are small in number."

The redhead nodded before pulling out her diamond and taking on her rookie form. Her clothes had been replaced by cat fur that covered her chest and belt area, her hair had turned white, she now had cat ears and she wore a pair of yellow gloves with red stripes, claws attached to the fingers.

However, considering how difficult it had been to kill one before, she knew taking two on at one would be extremely difficult, especially without the other four there to help her out. Hopefully Leomon would provide the assistance she needed.


	26. Chapter 26

Akari and Leomon held up defensive stances as the two Scorpiomon gazed upon them. They knew this was going to be tough, but even without the others, they would need to do their best.

With that in mind, Leomon charged at one of them as it fired beams from its foot-blades. Luckily, the lion dodged as the scorpion's stinger came toward him. Leomon quickly blocked the incoming stinger with his sword and sent a hard punch into the Scorpiomon's back.

Akari, all the while, avoided many various attacks from the other Scorpiomon. Once she saw an opening she sent an X-shaped scratch with both hands into the bug's forehead and shouted, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

But much like the Scorpiomon she and the others fought before, this one barely seemed to feel a thing as it sent a beam into her chest. This sent her skidding across the sand as Leomon stared in shock. Unfortunately, this distraction would cost him as he received a beam to the back.

Kiimon poked his head out of Akari's bag as the girl looked up at him and uttered, "Stay in there. I'll be fine," a big smile crossing over face as both scorpions crawled toward the two with the blades on their front legs at the ready.

Leomon gritted his teeth and ignored the pain to his back, getting up and turning around just in time to block the incoming strikes with his sword and free hand. The hand itself of course got cut as a result, but there was no way he would allow these bugs to kill Akari. After all, she and her friends were the Digital World's last hope.

However, it seemed his efforts might have been in vain as his sword could not hold back the Scorpiomon for long. As such, the blade started to crack before shattering into tiny pieces.

Kiimon was now even more terrified as the lion let out a loud roar. Suddenly, his body started to glow and his body began to change.

His body became thinner as a black sleeveless top and pair of pants formed on him. White armour appeared over his upper body, the belt area, his thighs and his knees as it seemed like his feet had become mechanical. Two white shoulder pads also appeared along with a visor on his forehead that did not cover his eyes. His teeth became long and sharp like those of a sabre-toothed tiger as his mane looked more like orange spiked hair. A pair of black gloves appeared on his hands while both his ankles and wrists were now covered by big turbines.

Once the Digivolution was complete, the lion let out a loud roar and drove the turbines on his arms to their highest limit. He then proceeded to send both fists forward, striking both Scorpiomon hard enough to send them skidding across the sand, their faces caving in just a little bit.

He then leapt toward them while rotating his entire body and was soon close enough to deliver a series of roundhouse kicks to each one's face. And soon enough, the Scorpiomon were defeated as their bodies became data and flew off into the distance.

The lion took a deep breath as Akari got up and returned to normal. She had a look of wonder in her eyes along with Kiimon as she uttered, "Leomon, you Digivolved."

The lion looked at his new turbines and said, "Yes, I've become Grapleomon. I was starting to wonder if it would ever happen."

"Why?" Akari asked as Grapleomon replied, "Your Digivolution may be hard, but since ours are permanent, it takes a lot more for us to Digivolve. Some have theorized that the stronger you are, the less you need the Digivolution therefor it's much more difficult to achieve, and as you've already heard, my power level before was close to that of an ultimate."

"So now you must be close to mega level in power," Akari replied with a big smile, "One more and you might be able to beat the virus without us," Grapleomon blushing lightly and replying, "That is certainly a good thought, but there's no need to jump the gun. Facing someone like that virus alone is not something I'd recommend. After all, he defeat both Asuramon and I in his champion form. I've heard he reached ultimate not too long ago, so-"

"Okay, I understand," Akari replied with a nod of her head as the group carried on. Luckily, the Scorpiomon had not held them up too much, but Grapleomon hoped that nothing else would attack them. After all, Akari had been hit pretty hard.

After a bit more walking, the group arrived in a small village with an Arabian theme to it. Most of the Digimon here seemed to be reptiles, but there were a few others such as cacti with boxing gloves, the kind the girls had protected an elementary school from. There were also small red beetles and a few tall slender blue ones.

Akari smiled at many of them as she knew none would attack her or Grapleomon. However, the lion was trying his best not to hide how much he needed something to drink as he looked around for the nearest tavern.

While doing so, he noticed an ostrich in a ninja outfit sprinting for his life. All the while, a group of lizards chased him while shouting, "WE GOT YOU NOW!"

However, just as the lizards got close, the bird vanished in a puff of smoke and appeared behind them. Before they could even realize what was going on, the ostrich hurled bladed feathers at them that exploded on contact. With that, the lizards were out cold as the ostrich smirked, saying, "You'll have to try better than that."

But just as he turned, he came face-to-face with Grapleomon and gulped. The lion let out a sigh and pointed at a row of crates. Both Akari and the ostrich were surprised by this act, but there was no way the bird was going to pass up a chance like this as he sped behind the crates.

The lizards slowly got up and walked over to Grapleomon before asking, "You there, did you see where that Peckmon went?" Akari about to respond when the lion replied, "He ran right past you while you were out."

"Thanks," one lizard replied as all of them ran off, Akari asking, "Why were those guys after him?"

The ostrich came out from behind the crates and sighed, "Thanks, buddy," as Grapleomon folded his arms and asked, "Getting into trouble again, Peckmon?"

Akari was now curious as the bird's eyes widened. He started for a few seconds and asked, "Leomon, is that you?"

After more staring, a smile formed on the ostrich's face as he gave the lion a hug and exclaimed, "It's so good to see you! It's been ages since you last came here!"

"And there's a reason for that," Grapleomon replied, "Also, my name is Grapleomon now," Peckmon and nodding and replying, "Oh yes, of course. I see you finally Digivolved. I'm still trying to do that myself, but as you can see, it's not working out so well."

"Hi, I'm Akari," Akari said with a light smile as Peckmon bowed his head and replied, "Very nice to meet you. I see your good friends with Leomon, or rather Grapleomon," the ostrich lowering his eyelids and sighing, "You know, I think I liked your old name better."

"She's more of an ally than a friend," Grapleomon replied as Akari nodded and explained, "Ophanimon summoned me and my friends here to help defeat the virus."

"Wait, what?" Peckmon remarked as Grapleomon explained, "Akari and four others were summoned here from the human world. See, they're among the many heroes trusted with Digimon spirits."

"Oh wow," Peckmon replied with wide eyes, "That's cool. I've heard stories of this sort of thing, but I didn't think it was true."

The ostrich then grinned at Grapleomon and added, "I'm sure you must be parched. Come on, forget the tavern. I'll show you something even better," Akari nodding and replying, "I'm too young to be in a bar anyway," Peckmon replying, "Actually, we in the Digital World don't have an age limit for that sort of thing."

With that, the ostrich showed them to an oasis located right behind a row of buildings, Peckmon chuckling and saying, "Just think, no one else has ever thought to look back here. I'd tell the villagers about it, but they probably wouldn't listen to me."

"It's a shame," Grapleomon replied, "You'd be a hero if you did," Peckmon nodding and removing some food from under his wing.

Akari decided to let Kiimon wander before asking, "Why were those Digimon chasing you earlier?"

Before Peckmon could respond, Grapleomon let out a sigh and replied, "It's because he's a wanted thief. That food he's eating is stolen."

Peckmon looked up with a piece of bread in his mouth while Akari gasped, "And you're okay with that!?" the ostrich laughing nervously.

"Well, at first I wasn't," the lion replied, "In fact, the only reason I came here all those years back was because I was hired by the mayor to capture him. See, before the virus appeared, I was often hired by many people to take care of criminals due to my reputation as the strongest champion in the Digital World."

"Oh god, I remember that," Peckmon groaned, "He beat me senseless. He could have easily turned me in."

"Well why didn't you?" Akari asked with a look of uncertainty, "That doesn't sound like a good thing."

"See, that day, I chased him out into the desert," Grapleomon replied, "Just as I had captured him, a group of powerful Digimon appeared. Despite my power, there was no doubt that even I could not take on so many dangerous opponents at once. As such, Peckmon used a smoke bomb to bring us both to safety."

"Yeah, he owed me big for that," Peckmon replied with a snicker as Grapleomon added, "Yes, I did grant him one last request, but he did not ask for his freedom."

"He didn't?" Akari asked as Peckmon nodded and replied, "That's right. See, I had stolen a lot of food that day, but it wasn't just for me. Most of it was for a group of starving in-training level Digimon. I simply couldn't let them suffer."

Akari's eyes sparkled as Grapleomon stated, "When I saw just how selfless he was, I couldn't turn him in. That would be no better than ending a hero's life. And it's a good thing, too. No one else is able to catch him."

"Well, you know, you just always gotta be one jump ahead," Peckmon replied as Akari smiled bright and replied, "At least you steal for a good cause, though I can't say I approve of that."

"Look, if I could use another method, I would," Peckmon replied, "See, this village is one of very few places in the Digital World that uses currency. It's very rare, but there are places like that. So it's also one of the few places where you have to work for a living, and before I became a wanted thief, I was a rookie back then so no one really wanted to hire me. And now that I am a thief, the odds of me getting a job are slim to none. I steal only what I can't afford, and, well, that's everything."

Akari blinked and said, "This sounds like something from my childhood," before shaking her head and asking, "Why don't you move somewhere else, you know, a place where you don't need money for food?"

"I've thought about it," Peckmon replied, "But as long as there are starving kids who need me while their parents aren't making enough, I gotta stick around and help them. I do sometimes feel sorry for all those Digimon whose employers worked really hard to get that food they're selling, but not many Digimon here are willing to just give food away, not even to baby Digimon like your friend over there."

"That's horrible," Akari uttered, "We should do something about that," Grapleomon sighing, "Unfortunately, not even I can do a lot about this. But even if there was, we really don't have time for this. We need to gather as much water as we need for the trip and move onward."

"Oh yeah, he's got a good point," Peckmon replied, "It's only a matter of time until that virus is strong enough to infect the entire Digital World. If you're our key to success, you'd better make that your top priority."

Akari took a deep breath and replied, "Okay, but there is something I wish to do first," the girl looking at Kiimon and asking, "Are you okay sharing your food?"

The baby blinked and nodded as Grapleomon and Peckmon each rose an eyebrow. But soon enough, all became clear when Akari went around the village giving all of the kids and poor families some fruit to help them survive just a little bit longer. And once that was over with, Akari only had enough food to last the group another day while the villagers could not have been more grateful.

However, it seemed her efforts ended up getting her more than she had bargained for. As it just so happened, the father of one of the poor families had a vehicle for travelling through sand. Since he could not leave his family, he saw no reason to go out into the desert anymore and as such, he gladly offered them the vehicle to help them on their way.

Akari gulped and uttered, "Thank you, sir, but I don't know how to drive," Grapleomon replying, "Don't worry, I can handle this," the redhead smiling bright.

With that, the trio was off as Peckmon watched from a rooftop and waved at them. He just had a feeling things would be alright as Grapleomon took the wheel and sighed.

"Okay," the lion uttered as he looked over the controls, Akari sitting in the back and asking, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just making sure the machine is safe," Grapleomon replied with a light blush as he looked over the controls and uttered, "This lever should turn it on."

With that, he pushed it forward as the motor started up, the lion's eyes going wide as he pushed the lever forward a bit more. With that, the vehicle started moving as Grapleomon took a deep breath and thought, 'At the very least, I do know how a steering wheel works.'

With that, he quickly jerked it to the left as a means of getting back on course. However, this wound up causing the vehicle to spin as Akari squeaked in fear. Kiimon, on the other hand, was laughing as he seemed to be having fun. Grapleomon's eyes were wide as he uttered, "Okay, sorry. I haven't actually driven a vehicle before."

Akari chuckled and replied, "It's alright. I've seen my mom and dad drive a lot before. This vehicle seems to work a bit differently from our cars seeing as you don't need a key, but I can help you with steering."

The lion nodded as she said, "When making a turn, only turn the wheel as far as you need it to go. If you jerk it, you'll end up turning too hard. The only time you should jerk the wheel is if you need to make an emergency stop."

Grapleomon nodded and replied, "Thank you, Akari," his trip going much more smoothly now that the girl was giving him some decent advice. Sure, she may not have been a driving expert, but she did know the basics.

While the group carried on, Akari asked, "How much time are we saving right now?" Grapleomon replying, "As long as nothing goes wrong, we should reach our destination in less than two hours. In other words, that pit stop actually helped us by a long shot, and it's all thanks to you, Akari."

The redhead bushed lightly and uttered, "I didn't do all that much," the lion shaking his head and replying, "But you have. I've only known you for less than two days and you've proven yourself to be very resourceful and the kindest person I have ever met. Anyone else would have never forgiven Asuramon for his actions, and yet you tried to save him. I was thinking of killing him, and we were once best friends."

"Well, I always believe that everyone has a little good inside of them," Akari replied with a big smile, "The only reason I kill infected Digimon is because I know they want me too. And besides, they always come back and start life over as a citizen of good. I wouldn't be surprised if Kiimon here was an infected Digimon looking to start a new life as a good Digimon."

The baby beamed bright as Grapleomon stated, "You know, ever since Asuramon betrayed me, I never wanted to make friends again. Even Peckmon I started to see as nothing more than a friendly acquaintance. But honestly, Akari, you've helped me see things differently these last few hours."

The redhead blinked as the lion asked, "Would you like to be my friend and not just my ally?" Akari giving a wide smile and replying, "Sure! I'd like that a lot!"

However, after a half-hour of driving, the vehicle was suddenly stopped by something in the middle of the path. Grapleomon peered over the front and noticed that something was a big sword face-down in the sand. And soon enough, the owner revealed herself as she leapt over to the sword and grabbed onto the handle, swinging it upward and slicing the front of the vehicle open.

"Oh no!" the lion exclaimed as Akari asked, "Do you know her?" Grapleomon nodding and replying, "Yes, she's a mega level, one of the most powerful servants of the virus. Up until now, the only one stronger than her was Beelzemon."

The Digimon standing before them was a human-like woman with long blue hair and pigtails flowing from the sides. She had a golden mask resembling a snake covering her eyes and small angelic wings on the sides of the mask. She wore a black tube top with a golden breastplate over top and wore shorts of the same colour. She had pink combat boots and golden wrist guards that resembled dragon heads. She held a golden shield with a spike on the front in one hand and her big sword with the blade coloured pink in the middle in the other.

"Hey there, Leomon, see you got yourself a new look!" the girl exclaimed with a grin as Grapleomon growled and remarked, "What are you doing here, Minervamon?"

"The virus sent me specifically to this location," the girl replied, "He could sense that you of all Digimon had been sent here and wanted me to get rid of you and anyone else with you," Akari trembling as Grapleomon gritted his teeth.

"Admittedly, you had the power to defeat me before," the lion stated as he hopped out of the totalled vehicle, "but I'm an ultimate level Digimon now and I have Akari on my side. You don't stand a chance!"

"So Akari is the hero, eh?" she asked, "Well, let's see that special power of yours unless you're too scared. I wouldn't blame you. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I really am something to behold."

Akari took a deep breath and sighed, "Okay," before turning to Kiimon and saying, "Stay in the bag. I don't want you getting hurt."

With that, Akari pulled out her diamond and became her champion form. Minervamon folded her arms and nodded her head while saying, "So you have the power of Gatomon. Not bad, but nothing special."

Grapleomon held up his fists and struck a battle pose while Akari hoped this would not be too difficult. After all, she knew just how strong a mega level Digimon could be. She and the others had barely managed to defeat Beelzemon when working together. One could only imagine how difficult this would be now that it was only her and Grapleomon fighting.


	27. Chapter 27

Just as things were starting to look up, Grapleomon and Akari had been stopped by Minervamon. As if being stopped by an agent of the virus was not bad enough, this was a mega level Digimon and without the others, it was uncertain whether or not Akari would stand a chance.

The fight started with Minervamon leaping toward the group with her sword raised. Grapleomon felt ready for this as he spun his turbines, sending his arm forward as the sword rammed into it. It seemed as if this new strategy was effective as despite the lion being an ultimate, he still managed to keep the sword from getting closer to him.

"You really have gotten stronger," the woman said with a grin, "And here I thought this fight was gonna be boring!"

"I wouldn't be so happy about this if I were you!" Grapleomon retorted before swinging his left leg toward Minervamon's ankles. Unfortunately, this missed as she easily leapt over it and planted both her feet into the lion's chest.

This ended up dealing next to no damage thanks to the Grapleomon's new metal exterior. With that in mind, Minervamon proceeded to send an onslaught of rapid kicks to the same spot.

Seeing as the digital woman was distracted and the lion was enduring the damage fairly well, Akari sped behind Minervamon and leapt at her with her claws raised. She then proceeded to strike her across the back while shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

Since Minervamon was skinny, much like Beelzemon, this did seem to deal visible damage as she let out a loud scream in response. Grapleomon then added to the damage by sending a hard punch in her gut while his turbines were spinning at their highest limit. This caused Minervamon to fly away from the group while coughing up a bit of blood.

However, she ignored the pain after a few seconds and proceeded to land perfectly against the sand and skid to a halt. The woman took a deep breath, but rather than looking alarmed, she instead flashed a wide grin at the two.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, "I'm actually really impressed! You two really are strong, especially the human!"

Minervamon then paused for a second and thought, 'Yeah, that attack of hers shouldn't have hurt nearly this much. Maybe that human body of hers adds to Gatomon's power, so even at a champion level, she has the potential to defeat a mega.'

With that in mind, the woman took a deep breath and said, "Alright, time to get serious," before planting her sword into the ground. Grapleomon frowned and said, "On my signal, jump to the side."

Akari nodded as Minervamon placed a firm grip against her sword handle and leapt up high enough to move her blade between her legs. She then proceeded to spin vertically thus causing cracks to form in the ground.

"Now!" Grapleomon exclaimed as both moved quickly to the right. Minervamon sped toward them while causing the ground to crack open more. However, she had a feeling they were going to try this and as such, just as soon as they dodged, the woman proceeded to swing her sword horizontally.

This caused a tornado to form around her as Akari and Grapleomon's eyes went wide. Neither had prepared for this as the tornado spread out and sent both of them skidding across the sand. With that, Minervamon smirked and threw her blade downward, unleashing an energy blade toward Grapleomon.

The lion was unable to respond as he took in the strike to his torso, roaring in pain. Akari gasped in terror before lunging at the woman. However, Minervamon was ready for this as she turned and pointed her shield forward just in time to avoid Akari's claws.

In fact, this would not have been any worst as Akari's hand had run into the spike on her shield. The girl let out a cry of pain as Minervamon sent a hard roundhouse kick into her gut thus causing her to fly into the ground.

"AKARI!" Grapleomon shouted as the girl's hand was now bleeding and her glove had a big hole in it. Sure, the girl may have been strong, but she was still a human. If she died, whether in the Digital World or not, it would be permanent.

Minervamon had a big childish grin on her face as she squealed, "THAT WAS AWESOME! COME AT ME AGAIN!"

The cat girl's body twitched as Grapleomon rushed at Minervamon with his foot ready to strike her. Thanks to the metal covering his torso, the damage dealt earlier had been reduced quite a bit, so he was still in good enough condition to fight.

However, Minervamon once again saw this coming as she blocked his foot with her shield, putting a hole in it while sparks flew from it. However, Grapleomon ignored the pain as he threw one of his spinning turbines toward her. The woman simply blocked it with her sword but was unprepared for what happened next. Since both her hands were being used, the lion took full advantage of this and sent his free fist into her gut.

This once again sent her flying as she coughed up even more blood. All the while, the woman could not believe she had allowed herself to fall victim to the same attack twice. But just like before, she managed to make a perfect landing thus keeping the damage to a minimum.

Akari managed to recover as she took a deep breath. Grapleomon turned to her and asked, "Are you okay?" the girl nodding and replying, "I'm fine."

The lion breathed a sigh of relief when Minervamon thought, 'He seems to really care about her. Maybe I can use that,' a smirk creeping across the woman's face.

With that, Minervamon threw her blade downward and sent an energy slash toward Akari. The girl's eyes widened when Grapleomon jumped in the way and took the blow himself. The lion roared in pain but tried his best to ignore it.

"Are you okay?" Akari whimpered as Grapleomon sighed, "Don't worry about me. Worry about taking her down."

With that, the cat girl nodded and lunged toward Minervamon only for the woman to dodge to the right and kick her in her ribcage. She would have used her sword, but it seemed keeping Akari alive but still hurting her allowed her to distract Grapleomon. For reasons Minervamon could not quite comprehend, Grapleomon clearly cared a lot about Akari.

One the cat girl was on the ground again, Minervamon rushed at her with her blade pointed outward. However, Grapleomon could not allow for this as he dashed in front and blocked the sword with his right turbine. However, the woman was not going to let him punch her again, so just as he was about to do so, she rammed her shield hard into his face, leaving a hole in his forehead as blood ran down his face.

This caused the lion to drop his guard as Minervamon laughed and shouted, "IT TOOK FOREVER, BUT YOU'RE FINALLY OUT OF OUR HAIR!" the woman ramming her sword into the lion's chest.

Akari's eyes went wide as Grapleomon's eyes and mouth were wide open. After a few seconds, Minervamon removed the sword from his chest and backed up a bit with a childish grin on her face. Akari trembled while Grapleomon fell hard on his back, his legs becoming data.

"NO, GRAPLEOMON, DON'T DIE!" Akari exclaimed with tears in her eyes, "I NEED YOU!"

Kiimon was also watching with sadness as half of Grapleomon's body had already turned into data, the lion uttering, "It's up to you, Akari. I know you can do it. You have the p-"

Unfortunately, before he could finish his statement, his entire body had become data and flew out of the area. Akari sniffed and started to cry while Minervamon laughed insanely.

"OH MY GOD, THAT FELT SO GOOD!" the woman exclaimed, "AND YOU'RE JUST SO FUNNY, AKARI! 'WAH, WAH, MY FRIEND IS DEAD! BOOHOO!'"

Minervamon proceeded to mock Akari by pretending to wipe her eyes while the cat girl gritted her teeth and hissed. Even under the worst of circumstances, the girl had always tried her best never to feel angry. But right now, it was not so much the fact that Minervamon had just killed her new friend that angered her. It was the fact that the woman was treating it like a joke.

"SHUT UP!" Akari spat. These were two words she had never said before in her life, but right now, she did not care what words came out of her mouth while Minervamon laughed and retorted, "What, you feel bad that 'Crap Leomon' is dead? No, seriously, what a stupid name!"

With that, Akari's body started to glow as she snapped, "HIS NAME IS GRAPLEOMON!" Minervamon stared in confusion as Akari started to Digivolve, however, she did not take on her usual angel form.

Her hair became a mix of red and orange and moved like a burning flame. Her fur followed suit as her gloves were replaced by ones of the same colour as the fur, the wrists also moving like flames while big claws came out of the finger holes. Her shoes vanished and were replaced by ones made of feline paws, both of which were very similar to the gloves. Even her ears became light-red with blue tips.

Minervamon blinked and said, "So it seems you can Digivolve too, but Lynxmon? That's not an ultimate level. That's, like, some weird hybrid of rookie and champion."

Akari did not care about her new Digivolution or what Minervamon had to say. Right now, she was far too angered by the woman's attitude to care as she lunged at her and let out a growl just like that of a lynx.

"HOWLING BUSTER!" she shouted in a slightly deeper voice than usual, the girl grabbing Minervamon by the shoulders and pinning her to the ground while her body was covered in fire. This ended up burning the woman a bit, but she ignored the pain and planted her feet into Akari's gut as a means of forcing her off. This at least knocked the girl back far enough for the woman to rise back to her feet.

However, Akari was not going to let her go so easily as she spat, "WILD NAIL CLAWS!" while rushing toward Minervamon while her claws caught fire.

The woman moved to the right in time to avoid a fatal wound, but not quickly enough to avoid receiving a slash to the shoulder. Due to Akari's claws being on fire, this dealt more damage than her usual Lightning Paw and as such, this ended up causing quite a bit of pain.

But just as Akari was ready to strike Minervamon again, the woman ignored the pain and sent her sword sideways, striking the lynx girl across her midsection. Akari's eyes widened as blood came out of that very spot, the girl falling hard on her back.

The girl quickly pushed herself up and pursued Minervamon only to receive a hit to the shoulder courtesy of the woman's shield. Despite this, she ignored the pain dealt to her and persisted, once again pouncing on the woman and knocking her on her back, this time forcing her sword and shield out of her hands.

To make things more difficult, Akari proceeded to use her feet to pin the woman's legs in place while holding onto her arms. She then proceeded to open her mouth wide before biting into Minervamon's shoulder, the woman crying out in pain.

However, just as it seemed Akari was about to end Minervamon's life, her eyes widened as she suddenly removed her teeth. She then released her hold on the woman and breathed heavily, backing up and clutching onto her forehead while letting out a loud cry.

"Is there something wrong with you?" Minervamon asked while slowly getting up and going for her sword and shield.

Akari took many deep breaths while thinking, 'No, this isn't right! If I kill her, I'll be no better than she is! I'll only be adding to the killing! She's not infected! She's capable of changing for the better!'

With that in mind, the girl's body glowed once again only this time, she changed into her angel form. She wore her single white stocking and had long flowing blond hair. She had a silver battle mask over her face and had eight angel wings coming out of her back. This was the Digivolution she was used to and it was the only one she felt comfortable relying on.

Minervamon stared and said, "Okay, that makes more sense. Angewomon, an ultimate Digimon. What was up with that other one?"

Akari ignored her comments and gave the woman a stern look. However, she said nothing as she created a ring of energy over her head and exclaimed, "HOLY AIR!"

The light from the ring healed the wound on her midsection and paralysed Minervamon. The woman started to panic now as she shouted, "What did you do to me!?"

Before she could react, though, Akari formed and arrow of light on her bow and exclaimed, "CELESTIAL ARROW!" but just as the arrow was about to hit, Minervamon managed to fight the paralysis just long enough to block it with her shield.

However, Akari was not going to wait for Minervamon to do anything else as she released another one. However, the paralysis had completely worn off now as the woman dodged just in the nick of time.

"Come on, that's all you're gonna use!?" Minervamon exclaimed tauntingly, "I know you got one more attack!"

Akari frowned as she refused to use it. She knew what this third attack of hers would do as every new form came with that knowledge. It would mean instant death for whoever it hit and she had no intention of killing anyone with full control over her actions no matter how horrible that someone might be.

Even so, she knew she would have to do something as Minervamon rushed at her with her sword at the ready. All the while, she laughed maniacally while shouting, "You should have just finished me when you had the chance! That Lynxmon form may have been lower in level, but you actually got results from that!"

There was no way Akari was going to let Grapleomon's sacrifice be in vain. He had died protecting her from harm. Not only that, but she and her friends were essential to saving the Digital World.

With that in mind, the girl formed another arrow and shouted, "CELESTIAL ARROW!" only for Minervamon to laugh as she exclaimed, "DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT'S GOING TO WORK A THIRD TIME!?"

With that, the woman swerved to the right with her sword ready to strike. But just as she did so, Akari turned toward her and released the arrow straight through her midsection. The woman's eyes widened as she fell hard on her back, her sword and shield once again flying out of her hands.

She could not believe it. She had taken in a hit from an ultimate level Digimon and yet she felt incredibly weak. Sure, she had sustained a lot of damage earlier, but even so, facing two lower-level fighters should not have been so difficult for her.

However, Akari simply stood there and looked down at her with a serious expression. She did nothing else as Minervamon stared with confusion.

"Well, aren't you going to finish me off?" the woman asked, "Surely you want to avenge C- I mean Grapleomon's death," before uttering, "No, seriously, Leomon at least sounded intimidating."

"No," Akari replied with a sigh, "I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you did, but I'm willing to give you a second chance. It's not too late to change. Giving into the virus isn't that much different from letting him infect you."

Minervamon bit her lip as Akari held out her hand and said, "Help us defeat him and save both the Digital World and my world. You're very strong. I think you'd make a great asset."

Minervamon took a deep breath and rose her hand before grabbing hold of the arrow. Sure, it sent a surge of pain down her spine, but she was tough enough to ignore it. Akari backed up as the woman pried her weapon out thus causing it to vanish.

Akari stared in silence as Minervamon smirked, saying, "I'll admit, as far as tactic and strength go, I think I underestimated you. But there's one weakness that I can now exploit, and it's that you're too soft. You think you can just change anyone by being nice? I have no desire to let that virus control me, so I'm taking the only logical way out. If you and your friends were smart, you'd do the same."

Akari held tightly onto her bow as the woman replied, "Don't worry, after that hit, I don't feel like fighting anymore."

With that Minervamon picked up her weapons and sprinted off into the distance. Akari reverted to normal and fell to her knees while Kiimon jumped out of her bag and nuzzled up against her. Akari smiled briefly at the baby before looking down as tears welled up in her eyes. She may have survived the fight, but now she was down one ally, or rather one friend.

With all said and done, the redhead picked up her bag as Kiimon jumped back into it. With that, the girl resumed her trip North. Even without a vehicle and even with the sun blazing down on her, she was at least going to make it to the desert's exit. At the very least, she hoped she would be able to reunite with her friends.

And after a little over an hour of walking, she soon reached the end of the desert sands and wound up in a bright meadow with flowers everywhere. Her spirits lifted a little bit, but she was still feeling down. However, she regained some of her positivity when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

The girl turned and gasped as, sure enough, Cho was calling out to her as her and Chise waved happily. And at that very moment, Hazuki and Asami had arrived at the meadow as they waved to the Gekomon.

"Thank you very much, you've been a great help!" the girls sang while the frogs replied, "If you ever need assistance, just give us all a yelp!"

With that, the amphibians headed back toward the swamp as the goth and silver-haired girl turned to the others with big smiles. And with that, the girls all ran toward one-another and shared a group hug. Almost all of Akari's negativity left her as she was relieved to finally be with her friends again.


	28. Chapter 28

Akari was so happy to have reunited with her friends. Sure, they had been separated for less than a day, but it had still been rough getting by without them. And the girls told of their experiences.

Akari, Hazuki and Asami were surprised when Cho and Chise said that they were now a couple. Akari, of course, could not have been happier for the two.

She was especially happy to hear about Hazuki and Asami's experiences. Not only had they helped two lovers get together but they had also convinced one of the virus' servants to turn to the side of good.

Though, of course, the reunion was not completely happy as not only did Akari have to explain why Kiimon was with her, she had to tell everyone what happened to Leomon. And needless to say, everyone was beyond devastated by this news.

"So Leomon is dead?" Cho asked, her eyes wide open as Asami gasped, "That's horrible! He was so brave and kind!"

Hazuki nodded and sighed, "Not to mention he knew how to navigate the Digital World. How are we supposed to find the virus without his help?"

Chise whimpered in response to this as Cho patted her on the shoulder and gave her a warm smile. However, even she could not hide how upset she was with this news. This was very close to being the worst-case scenario for them.

But of course, Akari was feeling the worst of them all. Before his death, Grapleomon had asked to be her friend and she had accepted it. And yet immediately after that, he was killed. It was Fukuko all over again.

"Well, look on the bright side," Cho said with a weak smile, "At least he'll be reborn, right? It's not like he's gone forever," Akari sporting a light smile of her own and replying, "Yeah, you're right."

The girl then took a deep breath and added, "Besides, he wouldn't want us to let his death get us down. The best thing we can do is finish what we've already started, with or without Leomon's help."

The others stared in stunned silence as Akari asked, "What?" Cho's eyes widening as she uttered, "Wow. You sounded pretty badass just now."

"Really?" the redhead replied as Asami nodded and added, "Yes, spoken like a true leader, I must say."

Akari blushed lightly as she took a deep breath and stated, "Well, since we no longer have anyone to tell us where to go, we need to find another way. Considering how we got here, I'm sure no one here knows how to get back to Data Village, and even if we did, we probably couldn't afford to go back."

"That's true," Chise replied, "We'd lose a lot of time."

"That's why we should just move on ahead and hope for the best," Akari replied, "To the best of my knowledge, the first step is to head that way," the girl pointing North as she added, "Besides, I'm sure Leomon wasn't the only one willing to help us who knows his way around the Digital World. I'm sure if we look hard enough, we can find someone who can help."

"Well, you heard the girl," Cho replied with a shrug, "That's probably the best advice we can follow right now."

All the while, Kiimon looked like he was deep in thought as Akari smiled and asked, "Do you wanna help too?" the baby nodding as she replied, "It's okay, just having you hear lifts my spirits."

"It's a real shame we don't know our way back," Cho sighed, "He really shouldn't be coming with us."

"Yeah, Leomon was going to escort him back," Akari replied, "I guess we don't have much of a choice right now. If we don't let him tag along, he'll likely be attacked."

"We will all do our best to keep him out of harm's way," Asami replied with a reassuring smile, the others nodding in agreement. After all, they did not want to lose another friend, let alone a baby.

However, before the group could take off, the night sky formed. With everything going on, the girls had forgotten just how long they had been trying to find each-other. But on the upside, the virus had unintentionally brought them closer to his home than if he had allowed them to go on their journey as originally planned.

The girls figured they may as well sleep under the stars. It seemed that no Digimon were nearby, so they felt safe. And it seemed as if night in this area was at least warm enough that they would not need blankets and with all the flowers around them, the ground was soft enough not to cause extreme discomfort.

But not all was peaceful. While the girls rested, Minervamon had dashed all the way to the virus' palace. However, rather than entering, she noticed Commandramon and signalled him to come closer.

The dinosaur blinked and did just that as he gave an army salute and exclaimed, "Welcome back, Minervamon, ma'am!" the woman grinning bright and replying, "Aw, you don't need to give little old me a special greeting. A simple hello would be fine, but it means a lot."

Commandramon let down a light sweat drop as he did not have the heart to tell her that this was how he addressed everyone. Besides, he would need to pay more attention as Minervamon informed him of what had happened in the desert. Needless to say, Commandramon was glad to know that Leomon had been taken care of, but to hear that Akari had managed to overpower the mega was alarming.

Even so, this was more than enough information as he headed into the palace and walked all the way to the virus' quarters. Once there, he knocked on the door before letting himself in.

The virus blinked and said, "Oh, it's your, Commandramon. More news for me?" the dinosaur nodding and replying, "Yes, Minervamon returned not too long ago. According to her report, she killed Leomon, sir."

The virus went silent for a few seconds before a smile cross his face. He then nodded his head and replied, "That's very good news. Thank you for telling me. I needed that. But was there anything regarding his ally?"

The dinosaur bit his lower lip. The words Akari stated after besting Beelzemon in combat had been on his mind ever since he had killed the demon. 'I'm sure it's possible to stop this virus from spreading. You're not being controlled like the others. You can choose to fight with us and together, we can stop him.' He had been wondering for quite some time if these words were really true.

However, he also felt loyal to the virus as he took a deep breath and replied, "The girl who was with him overpowered Minervamon. We're not yet sure what happened to the others, but yeah, apparently that girl was so strong that even Minervamon had no choice but to forfeit the fight."

"If she's that strong, then we're still not in the clear yet," the virus replied with a sigh, "Still, at least one of our biggest threats has been taken care of."

"Should I tell Minervamon to pursue them?" Commandramon asked as the virus shook his head and replied, "No, clearly force is not working. We need to try something else, and I think I know what we can do."

The following morning, the girls awoke bright and early. As it turned out, their sleep was even more comfortable than they initially figured it would be. And as a result, they were more than ready for the day.

Akari noticed Kiimon still sound asleep next to her as she gave him a warm smile. Cho and Chise, all the while, smiled at one-another and shared a morning kiss.

Hazuki, on the other hand, was hungry as she asked, "Hey, Asami, may I have my water bottle?" the rich girl replying, "Okay, but I'm watching you. If you take more than your fill, you won't have enough for the rest of the trip."

"I know," the goth replied when Asami handed her the bottle. Hazuki took a small sip and quickly placed the lid on, though a part of her really wanted to have more. However, she knew she would have to resist her temptations. After all, the less she spoiled her stomach, the better.

Akari placed Kiimon gently into her bag and asked, "Is everyone ready?" the girl doing her best not to let Grapleomon's death get to her.

The others nodded in response before heading North. There was no way they were going to give up. Though things were about to get more difficult as, unbeknownst to them, they had just cleared the first quarter of the Digital World. This meant they were now entering the areas where the virus had taken control and more Digimon had been infected. Despite the challenges up to this point, they had just finished the easy part of their journey.

The girls had just entered what looked like a big city with many buildings, lights and even clubs. With this in mind, Akari looked a tad nervous as she bit her lower lip.

"What's up, Akari?" Cho asked, "It's like you've never been to a city before," Akari nodding and explaining how certain parts of the Digital World expected currency in exchange for services. If there was one area in this entire world that required money, it would be a city for sure.

"We're fine," Asami replied, "I brought plenty of money with me," only for Hazuki to sigh, "They probably don't take human money."

"I don't think we need to buy anything here anyway," Cho replied with a shrug.

However, when the girls turned a corner, they realized the money issue was hardly an issue as three Digimon with feral looks in their eyes stood before them. To make matters worse, even more appeared, such Digimon consisting of androids, canines, felines, gorillas with gun arms and a few human-like Digimon.

"Look at them all," Cho uttered with her eyes wide open, "They're all infected."

"We've reached the other three quarters," Chise whimpered as Hazuki sighed, "That may be true, but we're gonna need to bust our way through these guys. We all knew this was coming."

The other girls nodded as Akari let out a sigh. She felt bad about having to kill so many Digimon at once, but she had to remember that they would be reborn and would no longer be infected.

And with that in mind, all five girls pulled out their diamonds thus taking on their hero forms. Though it had only been a day, there was something nice about all five being together for this sort of thing again. Though at the same time, Akari knew it was best to set her bag away from the battle area so Kiimon would remain safe. On the upside, all of the Digimon were champion level, so this would not be too difficult of a battle.

One of the Digimon lunged at Akari as the girl leapt over its head just in time to avoid the incoming strike. With that, she proceeded to scratch it hard across the back while shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

"DIAMOND SHELL!" Chise exclaimed after tucking herself into her shell. While in this state, she rammed into various different Digimon like a pinball and dealt quite a bit of damage.

Cho sent an onslaught of rapid punches into one's face while barking, "GAO RUSH!" another coming behind her as she spun around like a top and exclaimed, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!"

"DEATH CLAW!" Hazuki shouted while scratching quite a few. All the while, Asami provided backup by sending her feather into one and shouting, "FEATHER STRIKE!"

But while they were doing a fairly good job, they were still outnumbered. As such, it was only a matter of time until they found themselves at a disadvantage. One of the gorillas forced Chise into its gun barrel and fired her into a wall while a white wolf with blue stripes sent a blast of blue flames into Cho's back.

Asami, all the while, was dealing with Lynxmon who had her right wing in its mouth and took this chance to fling her into the side of a building. Hazuki did not have it much better as two bulky androids sent missiles into her. And of course, Akari had eventually been caught by an owl wearing a visor as it struck her in the back with its talons.

However, just as it seemed the girls were at a huge disadvantage, they noticed some of the Digimon start to vanish. Cho blinked and asked, "What's going on?" as Asami suggested, "My guess is that the virus is sending them to our world."

However, as unintentionally convenient as this was for them, it did not change the fact that fifteen Digimon remained. Though certainly easier to deal with, it had been hard enough for the girls to deal with one opponent at a time over the past. But then again, they did not have five members when fighting champion level Digimon before.

With that, Cho, Chise and Asami closed their eyes and wished for the power to save everyone. And with that, all three became their champion forms, all but Cho staring at Chise in shock.

"Oh yeah, I finally got my champion form," the girl stated with an embarrassed giggle, Cho giving her a hug and exclaiming, "It's so cool! She goes from a mammal to a dinosaur! I have the best girlfriend ever!"

Chise's entire face turned pink as Hazuki rolled her eyes and said, "Do that later. We have to deal with these guys, remember?"

The blond and blue-haired girl nodded as Cho shouted, "SPIRAL BLOW!" sending a burst of wind through three androids. This seemed to distract them long enough as she exclaimed, "DASH DOUBLE CLAW!" swinging her claws downward in an X formation and sending energy waved through them thus causing them to fall apart. As a result, the androids turned into data and vanished from the area.

"TAIL HAMMER!" Chise exclaimed before ramming the spiked ball on the end of her tail into the gorilla that had fired her into the wall earlier. This knocked the beast down as she spread out her arms and shouted, "MEGATON PRESS!" the girl landing hard against its chest as it turned into data. Chise was rather surprised that someone as skinny as her could even make an attack like that work.

"GRAND HORN!" Asami shouted as she rammed her horns into the owl that had attacked Akari. While it was distracted, she proceeded to let loose ring-shaped beams from her mouth while barking, "BLAST RING!" thus dealing enough damage to deal with the bird.

Hazuki and Akari all the while were also starting to improve as they used their claws to strike a couple down. Thanks to the aid of their now Digivolved friends, this was much easier to pull off. And with all their combined efforts, the girls eventually managed to take care of all fifteen Digimon.

Akari dashed over to her bag to make sure Kiimon was okay. When the baby peered out of it, the redhead smiled and squealed, "You're okay!" as the baby made happy squeaking sounds.

"That's all well and good, but we probably shouldn't be out in the open like this," Cho stated while folding her arms, "I wouldn't be surprised if there were probably more throughout the city who haven't seen us yet, and I don't know about you guys, but after that one fight, I feel exhausted."

"I agree," Asami replied with a sigh, "We should maybe try to be more stealthy. After all, other girls in our world are doing a good enough job keeping the infected Digimon at bay. We need to focus primarily on the virus."

"Boy, hero work sure is stressful, isn't it?" came a young male voice as Cho groaned, "You said it," her eyes widening as she asked, "Wait, who said that?"

The girls turned toward the top of a nearby convenience store where a young teenaged boy stood, but he was no ordinary boy. He had the ears of an elf and had a bandana over his mouth. He also had messy blond hair under a green cowboy hat with a red feather attached to it. He wore a white T-shirt along with an unbuttoned green long-sleeve shirt over top. He also had white gloves on his hands and had a short sword strapped to his waist. He also sported light-brown pants with green legs along with a pair of brown boots.

"Who are you?" Akari asked as Cho narrowed her eyelids and added, "And can we trust you for that matter?"

"Relax," the boy replied with a smile under his bandana, "Name's Petermon. I protect the innocent from the virus who threatens the Digital World. Cool, huh?"

"Oh, thank goodness," Asami said with a sigh of relief, "I was afraid everyone in this part of the world would be working for that monster."

"Well, this is certainly a dangerous place," Petermon replied, "But rest assured, I can take you somewhere safe. In fact, if you come with me, you'll be safe when the virus gains full power and spreads his curse throughout the world. Come on, you can live with me in my home forever."

Cho, Chise, Asami and Hazuki stared in confusion as Akari bowed her head and said, "Thank you for the offer, but we can't accept that. We're on a mission to stop the virus and save everyone, not just ourselves."

Petermon let out a sigh, folded his arms and replied, "I think you're crazy, but you know what? I kind of respect that. It's not everyday cuties like you save the world," the boy winking at Akari as her cheeks turned beet red.

"Oh my, you are quite the charmer," Asami said with a blush of her own while Hazuki slapped her forehead.

"Alright, if you're sure you can handle the virus, I won't stop you," Petermon stated while holding his hands behind his head, "But even so, you said you were exhausted, right? At the very least, you can come to my home and rest up."

"Well, we could use a short breather, could we not?" Asami asked with a light smile, Hazuki nodding and asking, "So this home of yours is perfectly safe, right? Like, we won't get attacked while we try to regain our energy?"

"Did you not hear me?" the boy remarked, "You'll be perfectly fine. This is a world only me and my closest friends can enter, meaning none of the infected Digimon let alone the virus himself could ever find it."

Chise gave a light smile as Cho nodded and said, "Well, we could use the extra energy, so thanks for the offer."

"Any time," Petermon replied with a wink as the blue-haired girl laughed nervously and stated, "Look, you're cute for a humanoid Digimon, but I already got someone," the girl then resting her hand on Chise's shoulder.

"A guy back home?" Petermon asked as Chise blushed lightly and uttered, "A-Actually, it's m-m-me."

The blond boy stared silently before looking down at Chise's chest then up at her face. His eyes widened as it suddenly clicked.

"Oh, okay," the boy replied, "Never come across that sort of thing here before, but first time for everything."

Petermon then shrugged and explained, "Anyway, I'll take you to my world right now," the boy leaping down from the rooftop and closing his eyes. His body emitted a blue energy as he added, "All I need to do is think of something happy and we can go to my world from pretty much anywhere."

With that, a portal appeared before him as he grinned and entered. With his finger, he signalled the others to follow as the girls beamed bright. They just all had a feeling that they could trust this Petermon and as such, all five entered the portal as it closed up.

But unbeknownst to the group, one of the virus' chrysalises was floating nearby and had seen everything. It was only a matter of time until the virus knew exactly what was going on and that would certainly be bad news for the girls.


	29. Chapter 29

The girls stared, their eyes sparkling at the world they had just entered. It was like a whole other dimension all in itself. There was free space to run around, nice green grass, a beautiful blue ocean surrounding the area and all sorts of other things.

"Wow, this is the second-most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Asami uttered as Cho asked, "Second-best," the silver-haired replying, "Well, it's not my mansion."

"So you live here?" Akari asked as Petermon nodded and replied, "Yep, I actually built this world from spare data I found lying around. I call it Never-Ever-Land."

"Wait, you made this?" Hazuki asked, "From scratch?" the boy nodding and replying, "Yeah! It's my dream world, a country made for children of all ages! You came just in time. A year later and you would have been too old," the boy laughing as if that was some kind of joke.

"That's incredible," Cho replied before asking, "But why is it called Never-Ever-Land?"

"That's because as long as you're here, you never grow up," Petermon replied, "In other words, you stay the same age forever. Neat, huh?"

The girls were a tad unsure of whether or not this was a good thing except for Asami who seemed to love the idea. Right now she imagined an eternity of looking just as beautiful as she did now. She would never have wrinkles or bags under her eyes. She would always look stunning and that fit perfectly well with her.

But while her eyes were sparkling, Cho simply shrugged and replied, "Well, if that's the kind of life you wanna lead, I'm glad you got your wish. It's not for us, though."

"Really?" Petermon remarked as Asami added, "Yeah, really?"

Hazuki slapped her forehead as rich girl uttered, "Oh right, if I didn't grow up, I'd never get married. I guess that would be rather dreadful, wouldn't it?"

"Well, suit yourself," the boy replied with a shrug before snickering at Asami, the girl giving him an odd stare.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked as Petermon replied, "You talk funny," the boy then leaping high into the air. The girls stared in shock as he was completely defying gravity right now.

"I didn't know you could fly," Chise uttered as Akari smiled and said, "That's so cool."

"Oh yeah, I can only fly here for some reason," Petermon replied, "I wish I wasn't limited like that, but hey, I guess it only makes the experience so much more special. Try to keep up with me."

The boy proceeded to fly forward only to be stopped by a young girl with fairy wings. She wore a sky-blue crop top with pink suspenders and green jean shorts that looked as if the legs had been ripped off. Like Petermon, her hair was blond only it was more tidy and had a green bow to hold a ponytail in place. She had a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it on her left leg and wore combat boots with pink spikes coming out of the fronts. Finally, she wore a pair of slender brown gloves with long pink nails on the fingertips and had a red lance strapped to her back.

"Oh, hi Tinkermon," Petermon uttered with a nervous look in his eyes, the fairy frowning and retorting, "Don't 'hi Tinkermon' me! You left without telling me again!"

The fairy proceeded to look at the girls below and barked, "AND YOU'RE TWO-TIMING ME AGAIN!?" Petermon rolling his eyes and remarking, "First of all, for the millionth time, we are not a thing. Secondly, I have no romantic interest in either of these girls."

"Damn right you don't," Tinkermon retorted, "They're not nearly as attractive at me," Tinkermon then batting her eyelashes as Petermon rolled his eyes and pushed her away from him.

"Who's that?" Chise asked as Petermon sighed, "This is Tinkermon, my best friend, and ONLY my best friend," the boy glaring at the fairy as she sighed, "Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you all. You know, I helped him build this world."

"Oh, is that so?" Cho asked with a devious smirk as Petermon's eyes widened, nervous sweat pouring down his face.

Tinkermon gritted her teeth and glared at Petermon. The boy waved his hands in front of his face and uttered, "Now, now, Tinkermon, calm down," only for the fairy to grab him by the collar and hold him right up to her face before grunting, "Did you try to take all the credit for yourself again?"

"No?" Petermon replied as the fairy retorted, "LIAR!"

With that, she held her arm back before slapping Petermon hard across the face. Despite her being a rookie level while Petermon was a champion, this hit was more than enough to send him careening into the nearest tree. As if that was not bad enough, Tinkermon flew over to him.

"I can't stay mad at you," the fairy cooed before kissing him on the forehead, Petermon grumbling curses under his breath.

Cho and Hazuki both snickered while Akari smiled wide and said, "I think that's sweet. You get into arguments but quickly settle them. Maybe Tinkermon is meant for you."

"You hear that?" Tinkermon replied with a grin, "Even she knows it's true love," as Petermon groaned, "Don't encourage her!" even Chise finding it hard not to laugh at this.

With that, the two led the girls to a small village located on the highest peak where one could get the best view of the ocean. As soon as Petermon arrived, a small number of in-training and rookie level Digimon, eight to be exact, emerged from small huts, their eyes sparkling upon seeing the boy.

"PETERMON!" the Digimon exclaimed as they ran over to him with a great deal of excitement. The boy's eyes widened as the rookies pinned him to the ground, one of the in-training Digimon joining in just to look tough.

"Hey, buzz off!" Tinkermon exclaimed as they all got off of the boy, Petermon sighing, "Tinkermon, they're just happy to see me. Nothing wrong with that."

Chise's eyes sparkled at the sight of the in-training levels. They looked just like the ones in Primary Village as she had seen the same species at least once during her time there. There was a pink blob with hands and a cat-like mouth, a plant bulb with a face and feet, a wolf's head wearing a spiked helmet over his top half and a pink ball with rabbit-like ears and sharp teeth. Petermon quickly introduced each in that order as Motimon, Tanemon, Kapurimon and Koromon.

For the rookies, one was a black bear cub wearing a blue baseball cap and matching belts on various parts of his body. His name was Bearmon. Another looked like a purple wolf and dinosaur hybrid with a long tail, a flat snout, pointy ears, feet like a wolf and hands like a T-Rex along with a gem stone on her forehead. She was Dorumon.

There was also a yellow lizard with a long yellow horn on his forehead. He also wore white and blue wolf fur and went under the name Gabumon. And finally, the last of the kids was a dog with white fur, pink ears and a curly tail of the same colour. Her name was Labramon.

After introductions were out of the way, Akari smiled wide and said, "It's very nice to meet you all," as Motimon made his way over to her and said, "You look strange. What kind of Digimon are you?"

"Don't say that," Tanemon remarked with a frown, "You're so rude," but Akari simply chuckled and replied, "I'm not a Digimon. I'm a human and so are my friends."

"Wow!" the kids all exclaimed in unison as Asami squealed, "Oh, you kids are all positively adorable! But how did they all get here?"

"Petermon rescued us," Gabumon replied as Dorumon sighed, "I still don't think I needed saving, but this place is nice, so I'm okay with it."

"Petermon is awesome!" Koromon exclaimed, "When we became in-training, some of the virus' Digimon tried to take us away. Most of our friends were taken and we didn't know what to do."

Labramon nodded and added, "We were all really scared, even Dorumon and Bearmon," the two in question shooting her a glare and remarking, "Speak for yourself! I wasn't afraid!"

"So how did you escape?" Chise asked as the girls stared awkwardly at her, the blond asking, "What?" while Kapurimon stated, "We got really lucky. Just as all seemed lost, Petermon came along and offered to take us somewhere safe. He said 'Come with me. I know of a land where you be safe forever.'"

"Well, that's sweet," Akari replied with a bright smile as Petermon nodded and smirked under his bandana before stating, "One of my goals in life is to keep the young Digimon safe. As you know, once children become champions, they run the risk of being infected. I simply couldn't allow that."

Cho grinned and replied, "Wow, you're like a hero," Tinkermon nodding and adding, "Yeah, that's why I love him so much, even if he is a disloyal boyfriend," the fairy holding the boy tight while his eyes just about popped out of their sockets.

"Speaking of which, how did you and Tinkermon meet?" Hazuki asked, "You both built this world, right?" Petermon nodding and sighing, "I remember it like it was yesterday. The day will live in infamy."

Tinkermon grabbed the boy by the back of his collar and hurled him into a tree before explaining, "I like to think of it as the best day ever," a big grin on her face while Petermon's eyes spun in circles.

"You know, you've never actually told us that story," Bearmon stated as the others nodded and sat around in a semicircle.

Once Petermon recovered, he quickly floated over and said, "Okay, I guess it's story time, and early story time," as Tinkermon squealed, "Yay! I get to relive that wonderful memory!"

Petermon face-palmed as Cho whispered, "If I ever become that obsessive, please hit me," Chise uttering, "I'll try my best."

Petermon proceeded to tell the girls of how a certain fairy was one day flying for her life to escape from a band of infected Digimon. Since she was still a rookie, the virus merely intended on having her captured than cursed herself. And while she put up a decent effort, it was only a matter of time until one of the Digimon struck her wings.

Once grounded, Tinkermon had no idea what to do when suddenly, out of the blue, Petermon rushed in and fought them off. Despite the fact that infected Digimon often had no sense of danger, his presence alone somehow managed to scare them as he turned to Tinkermon and asked if she was okay.

The fairy instantly fell in love as he smiled and said, "You know, if you become champion, that virus is going to infect you, and I'd hate to see someone so pretty working for him. Come on, let's make a country for children."

Once the story was over, Tinkermon rested her chin against her hands as she sighed, "And we did. Such a beautiful moment."

"Wow, you managed to scare them off?" Cho asked, "Wow, you're awesome."

"Not to mention selfless and heroic," Asami added, "You are a true gentleman, you know that?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I am pretty awesome, aren't I?" Petermon said while flexing his muscles, as few as there were. However, Tinkermon broke it up by giving him a tight embrace, kissing him multiple times on the neck.

The boys along with Dorumon groaned in disgust while Kapurimon rolled her eyes and sighed, "Boys are so immature," Dorumon glaring at her, the wolf head adding, "And certain girls," the wolf dinosaur unsure of whether or not to accept that.

"Just to be certain, how long do you girls intend on staying here?" Petermon asked as Akari replied, "A couple of hours should be fine."

"You're not staying with us?" Koromon asked as the redhead gave him a warm smile and replied, "I'd like to stay longer, but we're just resting here for a while."

"Yeah, we're gonna go to that virus' home and kick his butt," Cho added with a grin as the kids stared in awe. The rookies especially were surprised to hear this as they had lived long enough to have heard that humans did not have powers like they did.

"Wait, are you serious about that?" Tinkermon asked with her eyes wide open, "Even I'm terrified of that guy!" Petermon replying, "Worry not. Before I brought them here, I saw them take on fifteen champion Digimon and win. They're stronger than they look."

The kids were even more amazed as was Tinkermon. She simply had to know how they had pulled that off. From what she had heard, it was difficult for humans to win fights against each-other, so to come across five teenaged girls with the power to take on so much as one champion Digimon was unheard of.

At that moment, Kiimon poked his head out from Akari's bag as she smiled and said, "You're finally awake," only for the baby to immediately retreat back into it.

"What's his problem?" Motimon asked as Tanemon added, "Yeah, that was pretty rude."

"Sorry about that," Akari replied, "He's still really shy. I'm one of the only people he's comfortable around."

Tinkermon flew over and gave a big smile only for the baby to tremble and whimper. The fairy frowned as Petermon sighed, "Let it be, Tinkermon. You heard Akari. It's not just you."

With that, the kids wanted to spend time with the girls seeing as they would, after all, be leaving in two hours. Needless to say, Akari and Chise were more than happy to abide while the other girls figured it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. All the while, Petermon got up and said, "You all have fun here. I'm gonna gather us up some lunch."

With that, the boy flew toward the ocean while Tinkermon was about to follow. However, the boy turned to her and asked her to get some firewood as they would be needing it. The fairy was disappointed that she would not be spending more time with him but was glad to help, so she went along with his request.

And with that, Akari and Chise played with Motimon, Tanemon, and Koromon while Bearmon and Dorumon had a wrestling match with Cho, both rather amazed by how well she was doing against them. Hazuki, meanwhile, sat with Gabumon by a cliff, the two enjoying the weather. And all the while, Kapurimon and Labramon turned to Asami for advice on how to look good.

The rich girl's eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, "Alright, kids, I'm going to make you the prettiest you have ever been," before pulling out an assortment of haircare products and eye makeup. One could only guess how long she had been carrying this stuff on her let alone where she had been keeping it, but the female Digimon were more than happy to have a chance to try this stuff.

After a while, Petermon flew back to the others with a pile of fish in a net. The boy set it down as the kids were all excited. However, when they walked over, they noticed there were only seven, which was not even enough for all of the kids.

"Why are there so few fish today?" Tanemon asked as Petermon sighed, "I'm sorry, kids. See, I noticed this really big one and decided I had to catch it, but it got away from me too easily. I would have just gone to catch more, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging."

"I'll help you catch the big fish," Akari replied with a big smile, "If it's as big as you say it is, it should be worth it."

The kids stared as Petermon smiled under his bandana and replied, "You're a blessing, you know that?" and with that, the boy took her hand and was just about to carry Akari toward the location.

At that moment, Tinkermon arrived with her firewood when Petermon turned and asked her to bring the two fishing poles. The fairy rolled her eyes and agreed to do so, happy to be of service despite her eyes saying otherwise.

Soon enough, Petermon and Akari were standing on a big rock surrounded by water. The boy took a deep breath and said, "It's gotta be around here somewhere," while holding his hand over his eyes and looked around.

While Akari helped look, her eyes widened when the boy took hold of her wrist and suddenly slipped and fell into the water. However, what happened next was shocking as once both emerged, Petermon took hold of the girl's wrists and formed her hands up against his head, using her to force him under the water. But why would he do something like that? Was he trying to get himself killed?

"What are you doing!?" Akari exclaimed as she tried to pry her hands away only for Tinkermon to arrive, her eyes widening. From a logical standpoint, the fairy quickly assumed that Akari was trying to force Petermon under the water while the boy was trying desperately to pry her hands off of him.

Seeing this, the fairy growled before shouting, "HEY, GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY BOYFRIEND!" before flying toward the redhead and forced her pink nails into the area of her back just below her neck.

Akari squeaked in pain as the nails temporarily paralysed her. With that, Tinkermon quickly pulled Petermon up from under the water and placed a firm grip on his shoulders while asking, "Are you okay? Why was she doing that?"

"Thank you, Tinkermon," Petermon uttered through light gasps, "I thought I was a goner. See, just as I brought Akari here, she pulled me into the water and tried to drown me. Apparently, she and her friends are all servants of the virus and once they learned of our secrets, they came up with a plan to drag us all outside of Never-Ever-Land so we could be infected and serve their master!"

"What!?" Akari remarked, her eyes wide open, "I would never do that! How could you say such a thing!?"

Tinkermon gritted her teeth and retorted, "SHUT UP! HOW COULD YOU LIE TO US LIKE THAT!?"

But just as she was about to do more, Petermon took hold of Tinkermon's shoulders and said, "I can handle this. You go and take care of the others. They're probably abducting them as we speak."

"No they're not!" Akari retorted as Petermon gasped, "Oh no, they must be planning on poisoning the fish!" as Akari squeaked, "That's not what I meant!"

However, Tinkermon would always believe Petermon's words. As such, the fairy gave the boy a wink and said, "I'll make you proud," before flying off while Petermon exclaimed, "REMEMBER, KILL THEM ALL! UNLIKE US, THEY WON'T COME BACK TO LIFE!"

Akari simply stared at the boy in stunned silence and asked, "Why? Why would you do that?"

Petermon took a deep breath and replied, "Look, I'm sorry for deceiving you like this, but if I didn't, the virus would have dragged me out of this place and infected me."

"Wait, you mean you're working for him!?" Akari squeaked as the boy nodded and replied, "That's right. Before I met Tinkermon, I made a deal with the virus. I refused to let myself be controlled, so I offered to help him out. He gave me the power to create a world where I could keep certain Digimon hostage. You might not know it, but quite a few Digimon were born with data strong enough to resist the virus' curse. He considers these particular Digimon to be a threat."

Akari continued to stare in disbelief as he added, "I offered to bring them here with the promise that they would be safe. That way, they would be out of his hair. Tinkermon was just the first of these Digimon I discovered. Those kids also contain that kind of data. Though I specifically go for those between baby and rookie levels because if they were to find out the truth, they wouldn't be much of a threat to me."

"Why not just kill them anyway if you're so worried about that?" Akari remarked with a scowl as Petermon replied, "For starters, I'd feel bad killing children even if it was business. But also, they can be helpful when an enemy arrives, and needless to say, your friends are going to need a lot of help."

Akari did not even care about the second reason as she replied, "It's good to know your heart is in the right place, but this is wrong. I know the virus is supposed to be really strong, but I can guarantee that we can stop him."

"No you can't!" Petermon retorted, "You may be powerful enough to handle fifteen champion level Digimon at once, but not even you are strong enough to defeat the virus! He's only an ultimate level and yet he's stronger than every mega level Digimon in the world!"

Akari let out a sigh and uttered, "I don't want to have to fight you," as Petermon smirked under his bandana and replied, "Makes things easier for me," the boy pulling out his short sword and getting ready for battle.

During this time, the other girls had helped the kids cook the fish Petermon had brought so they would at least have something to eat while waiting. But just as they were about to enjoy their lunch, Tinkermon flew into the area and exclaimed, "DON'T EAT THAT!" before knocking the fish away from each Digimon.

"Hey, what was that for!?" Motimon exclaimed as Labramon barked, "Yeah, if you wanted some, you could have just asked!"

"Tinkermon tossed the fish into the ocean and stated, "I'm sorry, but that fish was poisoned!"

Everyone stared in confusion as Asami asked, "Really? Well, I feel safe now."

"Don't play dumb with me!" Tinkermon retorted, "I know all about your evil plan! Akari revealed everything to Petermon!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Cho remarked as Tinkermon turned to the kids and explained, "Those girls are working for the virus! They came here to abduct us so that monster could infect us! Petermon told me that himself!"

Kiimon poked her head out of the bag and growled at the fairy while the kids ignored this and stared at the girls with their eyes wide open. Currently, they refused to believe this. The girls had done nothing but show kindness toward them. However, just like Tinkermon, they trusted Petermon with their lives and as such, they eventually chose to believe these words.

As such, they growled as Tinkermon said, "Kids, run somewhere safe. I can handle this," only for Dorumon to remark, "We can help!"

"No!" the fairy retorted, "I mean it!" Bearmon asking, "Can we at least watch?"

"Okay," Tinkermon replied, "But watch from somewhere safe. I don't want you kids getting hurt."

With that, the kids fled from the area as the girls had no idea what to do. On one hand, if they did not fight back, they would likely die. On the other hand, fighting back would have only proven Petermon right. What could they possibly do about this?


	30. Chapter 30

It seemed so unfair that things had to take such a dark turn. Just as the girls were safe from harm, Petermon had ruined everything. Now their new friends had turned on them and right now, neither girl knew whether it would be a good idea to fight back or not.

Petermon had his short sword at the ready as Akari let out a sigh. Sure, this was the not the first time she had fought one of the virus' servants and yet something about fighting him in particular felt wrong. Perhaps it was the fact that everyone else in Never-Ever-Land believed in him and if Akari were to harm him, they would suspect her for sure.

"Just to let you know, Akari," the boy said with a smirk, "I'm not going easy on you, so you'd better not go easy on me. It's too boring that way."

With that, the boy hurled his sword toward her as the girl narrowly dodged in time to avoid a fatal strike. However, just as she thought Petermon had wasted his weapon, she failed to notice the blade coming at her from behind as it pierced her shoulder, the redhead crying out in pain.

The sword returned to Petermon's hand as he sighed, "What did I just say? You're boring me right now!"

Akari's body twitched as she held her hand to her shoulder, blood trickling down it. The girl took a deep breath and said, "I'd rather not fight you, but right now, my top priority is finding the virus and stopping him. Don't take this personally."

"Don't sweat it," Petermon replied, "As I said, this is just business. I really don't have anything against you," Akari unable to accept this, especially after how far he went to make sure the others would be in danger as well.

With that, Akari pulled out her diamond and became her champion form. Petermon readied himself as he struck a defensive pose. But would Akari be able to handle this? On one hand, both were champions and Akari had more strength than a typical Digimon in this state. But on the other hand, Petermon could fly and Akari was surrounded by a body of water.

During this time, the others were being attacked by Tinkermon. The fairy swung her lance at Chise only for Cho to pull her out of the way in time for her to avoid taking in damage. The fairy simply went after the others as they all barely managed to avoid her incoming attacks.

"Where's that great power Petermon was talking about!?" Bearmon spat as Dorumon added, "They're probably too scared to fight!"

Tinkermon smirked and said, "I can't blame you if you're too scared. I may be a rookie, but I'm really strong."

"That's not the reason at all!" Asami remarked, "The reason we are not fighting back is because we want you to know that your wild accusations are wrong! We have no intention of hurting you or the kids!"

"ENOUGH WITH THE LIES!" Tinkermon retorted while gritting her teeth, "Petermon told me all about your plan and he has never once told a lie! Because, I saw your friend, Akari, trying to drown him!"

The others went silent until Chise uttered, "That doesn't sound like Akari at all," as Cho let out a sigh and said, "Clearly we've been set up. This Petermon is not the good guy they think he is, but they're not going to listen to us. I know doing this is only going to prove Tinkermon's point, but we're gonna have to fight."

"I hate to say it, but Cho has a point," Hazuki replied while Kiimon nodded in agreement, "Our top priority is stopping the virus. If we die here, that will never happen."

Asami nodded and added, "Though we are only going to knock her out, right?" the others nodding in agreement. After all, Tinkermon was on the side of good and she truly believed she was doing the right thing at the moment.

With that in mind, the girls pulled out their diamonds and changed. The kids stared in shock as did Tinkermon. They could not believe what they had seen. One minute the girls were dressed like any old human and now they resembled actual Digimon.

"So this is the power Petermon was talking about," Tinkermon uttered as she smirked, saying, "I'll admit, that's actually pretty cool, but it's not going to be enough."

"We don't wish to do this, but you have left us with no choice," Asami stated before lifting up her feather and shouting, "FEATHER STRIKE!" hurling the wing part at the fairy.

Tinkermon easily dodged to the right as Chise rolled toward her and squeaked, "DIAMOND SHELL!" However, Tinkermon simply used her lance like a Baseball bat to send the blond flying away from her.

"ROLLING UPPER!" Cho exclaimed while rolling toward the fairy. Unfortunately, Tinkermon easily dodged by performing an aerial somersault over her and planting one of her shoe spikes into the blue-haired girl's back.

This paralysed her as Hazuki exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" shooting a burst of dark energy toward the fairy. Unfortunately, Tinkermon once again dodged as Hazuki suddenly started to feel weak. Her eyelids were starting to sag as she felt light-headed, but why?

The fairy rose an eyebrow and said, "You don't look so good. I was gonna take you down first for being a champion, but it looks like you've beaten yourself."

'What's going on?' Hazuki thought while breathing heavily, but she knew she had to persevere. The kids, on the other hand, were ecstatic by how well Tinkermon was doing. Despite the girls' powers, they did not seem to stand a chance.

However, Cho was not going to let this slide as she turned to Chise and asked, "You think you can handle this, darling?" the blond nodding in understanding before replying, "I'm ready when you are, honey."

"Why do I feel like that was supposed to be weird?" Hazuki asked as Asami shrugged.

With that, Chise tucked herself into her shell again as Cho smirked and held her like a Soccer Ball. With that, she tossed the blond lightly into the air and reeled her leg back before shouting, "DIAMOND SOCCER SHELL!" sending her foot hard into Chise and sending her flying.

Tinkermon easily dodged it and asked, "Speed isn't the issue. It's a really predictable attack," while Cho simply spun toward her with her fists out and exclaimed, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!"

Tinkermon simply blocked the incoming attack with her lance when Koromon exclaimed, "TINKERMON, LOOK OUT!" but it was too late as Chise ricocheted off of a tree like a pinball and rammed herself hard into the fairy's back.

This distracted the fairy as Cho proceeded to send her fists repeatedly into her cheek. After enough hits, the blue-haired girl landed an extra-hard one to the same spot thus sending Tinkermon flying into a tree.

The kids growled as Kapurimon exclaimed, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Kiimon about to jump to the girls' aid when Tinkermon held her hand out and exclaimed, "I told you to stay back! I can handle this!"

The kids nodded and backed up while Asami sighed, "Well, at least she's not putting the kids in danger. I'd hate to fight them too."

During this time, Akari was having trouble with Petermon. The boy kept flying around while the girl did her best to find an opening. However, Petermon would not give her one as he would always fly toward her and swing his sword at her side. Each time, Akari would dodge and try to strike him with her claws at the same time, but the boy proved to be too nimble for that.

"Too bad for you," Petermon said with a grin, "You might be superior in strength, but I've got significantly more skill than you."

He then proceeded to dance around while singing, "I'm better than you! I'm better than you! Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah! Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!"

Akari bit her lower lip as she could not help but feel frightened. Even without the unfair advantage, it seemed like Petermon would have been winning anyway. Perhaps Akari was out of her league right now.

But at the same time, she could not just give up. If she did, Petermon would join up with Tinkermon and make things even more difficult for her friends. But even so, she could not allow herself to die, not after Grapleomon had sacrificed himself for her.

With that in mind, the girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her ears twitching as Petermon smirked and said, "So you've decided to submit. Good, I'll be done quicker than expected."

With that, the boy flew toward Akari as the girl's eyes opened. With that, she proceeded to lash out both sets of claws while shouting, "LIGHTNING PAW!" Petermon's eyes widening as he ended up taking two big scratches to his chest.

Akari bit her lip and uttered, "Sorry," as Petermon performed an aerial somersault backwards and remarked, "I should be apologizing to you."

With that, he once again threw his sword toward the girl. Akari knew what to expect now, so when she dodged it, she was on high alert. However, Petermon was not going to give her this chance as he flew toward her and sent a two-legged kick into her midsection. The girl's eyes and mouth widened as the sword returned and stabbed her other shoulder, the girl crying out in pain.

With that, Petermon smirked under his bandana and said, "I'm impressed you managed to hit me, but I'm still better," the boy then removing his blade from Akari's shoulder as he aimed for her vitals.

The girl closed her eyes and thought, 'Please, Gatomon, give me the power to protect everyone!'

Unfortunately, the Digivolution failed as Akari could not have been more frightened. She figured the situation must have been dire enough, but clearly it was not. She felt as if she still had to keep fighting, though, so her friends would not be attacked by Petermon but at the same time, if she died, Grapleomon's sacrifice would have been in vain.

As such, the girl took a deep breath and leapt backwards just as the boy was about to stab her. With that, she allowed herself to fall into the ocean as she knew this was the only way to escape from the boy without her angel wings to help her.

Petermon, all the while, figured she must have chosen to kill herself as he said, "Wow. I was not expecting that," the boy shrugging and adding, "Oh well, better go check on Tinkermon and see how she's doing."

With that, the boy flew off as Akari rose up from under the water and let out a gasp. She then looked around and noticed a rock formation on the side of the cliff that resembled a ladder. That was exactly what she needed right now.

All the while, the others were doing their best against Tinkermon, and it seemed since Chise and Cho had hit Tinkermon, they were starting to do a better job against her. Asami had managed to land a couple of pecks on her while Cho and Chise dealt a couple of hits of their own. The only one who had not been doing much better was, surprisingly, Hazuki who was still feeling light-headed for some reason.

"Alright, I didn't want to have to resort to this mainly because it makes the fight way too easy," Tinkermon stated, "but it seems I have no choice."

With that, the fairy started to flap her wings more quickly than usual as a sparkling powder started to fall from them. She then proceeded to fly straight past each girl one-by-one thus allowing the powder to touch them. The girls were all confused by this until they suddenly noticed their forms were changing.

Asami was now wearing a pink dress along with a matching cap. As if that was not strange enough, her nose was replaced by a small yellow beak where both halves seemed to be melded together.

Cho was now wearing light-blue pyjamas and had small cat-like ears, much to her dismay. Chise was not doing much better as she had a white shirt, nothing to cover her underwear and not had a small bit of white hair sticking up in the form of a long ponytail.

The only one who had not changed was Hazuki as she was thankfully still in her usual form. Lord knew why she had no been effected seeing as the powder had touched her as well, but she was not complaining.

"My word, what ever did you do to us!?" Asami exclaimed, "This is even less fashionable than what I was wearing before!" Cho and Hazuki both giving her an awkward stare.

"That was my fairy powder," Tinkermon replied as the kids were just as confused as the humans. They had never seen this in action before.

"It's a last-minute resort I use when all else fails," Tinkermon explained, "See, whenever I use it on a group of enemies, some of them get turned into babies. In other words, you've become the baby forms of the Digimon whose powers you possess."

Kiimon was unsure of how to respond to this as Chise sighed, "So you mean we don't have any special attacks to use anymore," the fairy shrugging and replying, "Well, you can blow big, pink bubbles."

Cho let out a sigh and blew a big one out of her mouth, groaning, "This is so degrading," as Chise trembled and whimpered, "What will we do now!?"

Cho gave the blond a warm smile and said, "Don't worry, honey. I can still fight even without powers," the blue-haired girl then rushing toward Tinkermon with her fist at the ready. However, Tinkermon easily dodged the incoming strike and took hold of the girl's arm.

Cho blinked and uttered, "Uh-oh," as the fairy jabbed her lance into the blue-haired girl's back. This caused Cho to pass out as she started to tremble, uttering, "No... I'm heavyweight champion of the world, not this clown."

"CHO!" Chise exclaimed as Tinkermon smirked, saying, "Don't worry, my lance isn't deadly. It simply puts my opponents to sleep and gives them nightmares. Still pretty effective if I say so myself."

The kids cheered while Bearmon exclaimed, "Tinkermon is so cool!" Gabumon nodding and replying, "This is my first time seeing her fight. She's awesome."

"I highly doubt this can keep us down," Asami stated, "Don't forget, we have control over our Digivolutions."

With that, Chise nodded as both girls closed their eyes. However, they ended up getting no results as Tinkermon smirked and stated, "Even if you could Digivolve those forms of yours, it won't work here. I'm sure Petermon already explained that in this world, you can never grow up. That means you'll never be able to Digivolve here."

Chise and Asami were both beyond worried now as Hazuki sighed, "Don't worry about it. I'm still in my champion form," the goth then asking, "Speaking of which, how am I still in my champion form?"

Tinkermon let out a sigh and grumbled, "Well, as I said earlier, the powder only effects a certain number of my opponents. In fact, I can't help but feel lucky it effected more than half of you."

The others did find this rather strange as Hazuki sighed, "Well, good thing because my default form is champion," the goth grinning while the kids bit their lips. They really hoped Tinkermon had what it took to defeat a champion.

At that moment, Petermon arrived at the scene and noticed Tinkermon's handiwork, the boy nodding his head and saying, "I guess I'm not really needed here."

Tinkermon turned and smiled wide, her eyes sparkling as she squealed, "Petermon, you came here to check up on little old me!? That's so sweet!" the boy sighing, "Actually, I figured with Akari taken care of, you might need a bit of help, but you seem to have things covered."

Chise, Asami and Hazuki went wide-eyed at the sound of this. Had he actually killed Akari? There was just no way.

At that moment, Hazuki gritted her teeth and clenched her fists before barking, "OKAY, I DON'T CARE IF YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THIS IS FOR SOME WORTHY CAUSE! NO ONE KILLS MY FRIEND AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

With that, the goth proceeded to send another burst of energy, this time aiming to hit both Tinkermon and Petermon. However, both easily dodged this as Hazuki started to feel weak again, the goth falling on one knee and breathing heavily with both hands against the ground.

"What are you doing, Hazuki?" Asami asked with a look of concern, "Are you alright?" Chise whimpering in fear.

"I don't know," Hazuki uttered as Tinkermon smirked and said, "No point being the only one not effected by my powder if you can't even fight me. You're pathetic."

Petermon laughed and said, "And to think I was actually worried. Keep up the good work, Tinkermon," the boy flying over to where the kids were and sitting himself down with his hands behind his head.

Right now, Asami and Chise were both glaring at the boy as Asami asked, "How could you say such a horrible thing about us? I know for a fact that Akari would never do that horrible thing Tinkermon claims she did."

"She told me you'd deny everything," Petermon remarked, "You launch an attack against us and you still expect me to believe your lies? Your leader confessed to everything!"

Kiimon gritted his teeth all the while as Hazuki tried her best to find the strength to fight back against Tinkermon. Unfortunately, with each attempt, she only continued to get weaker.

When a growling sound filled the air, Hazuki's eyes widened as she groaned, "Oh no, I think I know what the problem is," and when she started feeling pain in her stomach, it was plain as day.

"What is it?" Asami asked as the goth turned to her and exclaimed, "Quick, toss me my water bottle right now!"

"But," the rich girl uttered as Hazuki sighed, "I'm weak right now because I'm hungry! I thought for sure I could go a whole day with only a little bit, but I can't! This isn't just some craving for it talking! I honestly need it!"

"Okay, I understand," Asami replied while going for her bag and pulling out the bottle of blood, "You don't need to elaborate your reason. Clearly you require more nourishment than we first thought."

"What is that? Cherry juice?" Petermon asked as Labramon growled, "I don't know what it is, but if what they're saying is correct, that liquid gives her more power."

With that, the dog bounded into the area as Tinkermon exclaimed, "HEY, WHAT DID I TELL YOU!?" only for the dog to grab hold of the bottle and fling it off the edge of a cliff before remarking, "I'm not going to fight them! I'm only helping out a little!"

"Well, that was definitely a good idea," Petermon said with a shrug as Tinkermon gave the dog a light smile and stated, "Actually, that was kinda helpful. Thanks."

"Oh no!" Hazuki exclaimed with her eyes wide open, the goth now terrified out of her mind. However, while she and Chise were scared out of their minds, Asami took a deep breath and reverted back to her human form before pulling down on the side of her collar and tilting her neck to the right.

The others stared in confusion as the rich girl said, "Go ahead, Hazuki," the goth turning to her with a look of shock and uncertainty in her eyes.

"What's she doing?" Petermon asked as Hazuki uttered, "Look, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I want you to do this!" Asami retorted, "You need to get stronger and this is the only way! Just do it already!"

With that, Hazuki took a deep breath and slowly walked over. Tinkermon and Petermon would have tried to stop her, but they had no clue what she was doing.

The goth took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Asami, a light smile on her face as she said, "You're a great friend, you know that?" before opening her mouth and lashing out her fangs.

Chise closed her eyes and bit her lip as she refused to watch this while Hazuki planted her fangs into Asami's neck and started to draw blood from her, the rich girl doing her best not to freak out. The Digimon were even more confused as Tinkermon asked, "Is she doing what I think she's doing?"

Once the goth had taken her fill, she removed her fangs from Asami and licked her lips. She then proceeded to flex her arms while exclaiming, "Wow, I feel amazing! Thanks, Asami!"

"No problem," the silver-haired girl replied while holding her thumb up, her other hand holding into the side of her neck.

"Wait, that red liquid was blood?" Petermon asked, "Does that make you a vampire like the legendary Myotismon?"

"That name sounds familiar," Hazuki replied with a shrug before explaining, "I'm not a completely vampire, but I did become a half-vampire after gaining my powers."

Tinkermon panicked as the goth sent a dark wind toward her while exclaiming, "RAZOR WING!" But just as the attack was about to hit, Petermon flew in the way, pushing Tinkermon to the side and took in the attack himself.

The boy winced and asked, "Are you okay?" before noticing his hand was pushing up against the fairy's breast, his eyes widening as he quickly retracted it.

Tinkermon's eyes sparkled as she squealed, "Oh my god, you really do love me!" while the kids stared in confusion. However, due to this increase in Hazuki's power, they now wanted to help.

But just as they were about to do so, Petermon held out his hand and said, "Worry not, kids. We got this covered," Tinkermon asking, "Did you say 'we'?"

The boy nodded and replied, "Yeah, it might be best if I help you out with this one," Tinkermon feeling happier right now.

Now Hazuki was worried. Sure, both Digimon were not high in level, but even so, Tinkermon alone had proven to be a major problem. With Petermon helping her, would the goth stand a chance?

Even so, Hazuki could not give up. She still felt bad having to fight the two, but it was either that or letting the entire Digital World and human world down. Those lives were much more important than two.

With that, the goth took a deep breath and fired a burst of energy at Petermon only for the boy to easily dodge. With that, Tinkermon took advantage of this and flew at Hazuki, ramming her nails into the goth's shoulder. This temporarily paralysed her as Petermon flew by and delivered a slash to her side.

"YAY, GO PETERMON!" the kids cheered as Kiimon growled. He really wished he could do something right now, but he was just a baby. What could he possibly do about this?

But just as Hazuki was about to take in more pain, Akari arrived at the scene and exclaimed, "STOP!" all going silent as everyone stared at the cat girl who was breathing heavily with her hands on her knees.

"What are you doing here!?" Petermon exclaimed, "I thought you killed yourself!" Asami asking, "Wait, so you were not the one who dealt the finishing blow."

"Well, no, she jumped into the water when she realized how big of a disadvantage she had," Petermon replied as the rookies and girls face-palmed. Even Tinkermon was rather ashamed of Petermon right now.

"Well, whatever the case, this is a happy moment," Asami said with a big smile only for Petermon to turned to Tinkermon and ask, "You can take care of Hazuki, right?"

The fairy nodded and grinned, saying, "Take down that cat witch, darling?" as Petermon sighed, "I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"No, I won't let this continue!" Akari exclaimed, "I'm sorry, Petermon, but I have to tell them!"

"Tell us what?" the kids asked as the boy gulped nervously, Akari exclaiming, "Petermon's been lying this whole time! He works for the virus! He set you all up to make sure we wouldn't make it to his home! He only made it look like I was trying to drown him when he was the one who pulled me into the water!"

Tinkermon's eyes went wide while the kids could not believe these words. However, there was no way they would believe this as Bearmon spat, "YOU'RE A MEANIE-HEAD, AKARI!" Kapurimon shouting, "Yeah, you should have died earlier!"

However, just as things were once again looking up for Petermon, Kiimon gritted his teeth and let out a loud roar. Despite the rules of Never-Ever-Land preventing Digivolution, the baby was somehow able to get around it as he started to glow. Everyone stared as he became slightly bigger, his ears bending in the middle. His face became light-brown and his eyes turned yellow.

Petermon blinked and asked, "How did you do that? No one is able to grow up here!" the baby growling and retorting, "I don't know, but one thing's for sure! I am not about to let you talk smack about Akari!"

With that, the kid opened his mouth and released a ball of dark energy, striking the side of Petermon's face. Of course, since he was only an in-training level Digimon, this did nothing more than causing the boy to turn his head a tiny bit to the side. But even so, would this sudden Digivolution turn things around?


	31. Chapter 31

No one could believe what had just happened. Kiimon had completely broken the law of Never-Ever-Land by Digivolving. Even he had no idea how he had done it, but now that he could finally talk, he was going to let himself be heard.

"I respect you standing up for Akari like that," Petermon stated, "but you don't know what kind of person she is."

"Yes I do!" the child retorted, the kids staring as he added, "I've known her longer than any of you and I can tell you with a shadow of a doubt that she is the kindest, most gentle person I have ever met! She will only kill infected Digimon as she knows that's the only way to revert them back to normal, but if you choose to work for the virus, she'll spare your life!"

Everyone stared as the kid added, "Yesterday, she had a perfect opportunity to kill Minervamon, but she instead offered her a chance to redeem herself! Would an evil person do something like that!?"

Akari smiled wide as the kid stated, "Cho, meanwhile, was just about to end Asuramon's life when he threatened Primary Village, but Akari told her to stop. Sure, he ended up killing himself, but Akari was still willing to spare his life and give him a chance to rekindle his friendship with Leomon."

The kids were amazed by this as Tinkermon let down light tears, the child smirking and saying, "She also bested me in combat, came right close to ending me. But did she kill me? No, she spared my life."

"But when did I...?" Akari uttered as the Digimon turned to her and said, "Sorry I couldn't have been much help sooner. Commandramon complicated things."

The girls stared in stunned silence, Cho having just woken up from her nightmare as she asked, "Wait, are you Beelzemon?"

"Beelzemon?" Petermon gulped as the child nodded and replied, "Well, my name's Yaamon for the time being, and before you ask, I have no idea how I pulled this off. The rule with the Digital World is that when Digimon die, they become eggs so they can be reborn. But the downside is that they lose all memory of their past lives, very much like your kind's theory of reincarnation. Maybe it was because I refused to let that happen, but somehow, I was born with most of my memories intact, and when I Digivolved just now, they all came flooding back."

"That seems awfully convenient," Asami replied as Akari smiled wide and squealed, "True, but I'm glad I got to see you again!" opening up her arms as Yaamon leapt into them for a hug.

"You know, that actually feels pretty good," he said as the other kids were beyond confused, Tinkermon asking, "So why would someone so kind work for the virus?"

"Simple, she doesn't," Yaamon replied, "Your boyfriend over there, he's not so much a liar as much as he's a coward, one of the biggest cowards I've met."

"How dare you say that about my beloved Petermon!?" Tinkermon retorted, but her attitude changed a bit when she noticed the boy was not even trying to deny these words. Instead, he had a nervous look while sweat poured down his face.

"It's not true, is it?" Tinkermon asked, "Akari's lying, right? She's the villain."

Yaamon let out a laugh and exclaimed, "That's a laugh! I remember that very day when you came to the palace! You were on your knees begging for the virus not to take away your precious free will! You were bawling your eyes out, you were so scared!"

"Petermon couldn't have been scared," Dorumon remarked, "He's even braver than me."

"No he's not," Yaamon remarked, "I was there when you struck a deal with the virus. In exchange for your freedom, you would take certain Digimon into your own world and keep them from opposing the virus."

Akari nodded and added, "All of you are special Digimon who were made with a strong data that can resist the virus' powers. He sees you as a threat, so Petermon takes you here. That way you'll never Digivolve and you're never become a threat to the virus."

"Oh my god, you actually told her about that?" Yaamon asked as Petermon was now trembling all over as the child added, "Something worth note is that there are a few others like that. I'm sure a big part of the reason Leomon of all Digimon was chosen to lead you guys to the virus' base is because he has the power to resist the virus as well."

The girls nodded as Cho said, "Come to think of it, I did sorta wonder what would happen to him once we reached the virus' territory."

Tinkermon and the kids had no idea whether to believe this or not until Petermon fell to his knees and exclaimed, "ALRIGHT, FINE! IT'S TRUE! IT'S ALL TRUE! I'VE BEEN A SERVANT FOR THE VIRUS THIS WHOLE TIME! I BROUGHT YOU HERE BY HIS WISHES AND I SET AKARI UP TO HAVE HER AND ALL OF HER FRIENDS KILLED!"

All went silent as the children gritted their teeth. All of them felt a mix of anger and shame.

Tinkermon gritted her teeth and retorted, "YOU BASTARD! AND TO THINK I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU!" the fairy just about to hit the boy with her lance when he blocked it with his sword and remarked, "So the cat's out of the bag! No matter! I'll just kill each and every one of you!"

However, Akari and Hazuki were not going to let this happen as they came at him from behind and struck him with their claws. To add to the damage, the kids also rushed forward to get a piece of the action.

Bearmon punched him hard in the chest while Dorumon shot an iron sphere out of her mouth and into his cheek. Gabumon hit him with blue fire from his mouth as Labramon prevented him from responding with a loud bark that emitted shock waves.

Even in the in-training Digimon added to the fire as Kapurimon hit him with an electric shock from her horns. Tanemon sent out bubbles into his face, though these were slightly more effective than the pink bubbles baby Digimon produced. Koromon used his own massive bubble to add to the damage while Motimon used his own unique brand to bind Petermon in place.

With the boy clearly outnumbered and outmatched, there was nothing left for him to do as he fell flat on his face. It was over. His plan had backfired in the worst way possible.

Tinkermon was about ready to kill him when Akari took hold of her wrist and shook her head. The fairy blinked as Bearmon asked, "Why are you stopping her? Petermon's been lying to us this whole time."

"True, but he was only doing it to survive," Akari replied, "If we kill him, he won't get a chance to start a new life."

Yaamon grinned and asked, "What did I tell you guys? Akari's a saint."

Akari gave Petermon a light smile as he groaned, "Why would you spare my life? I dragged you here just to have you and your friends killed. I don't deserve your pity."

The redhead shook her head and replied, "I know you're not a bad Digimon, and I can see that with these kids. You could have just killed them but instead you spared them. You told me that one of the reasons you did so was because you figured they would be useful in combat, but I don't think you meant that. You just wanted them to be safe from the virus and this seemed like the perfect way to ensure that."

The kids stared as Tanemon asked, "Is that true?" Petermon letting down light tears and sniffing, "Yes. The virus never told me that I had to kill you, just keep you away from him. I figured as long as I had that option, I would take it. Even now with all of you turning on me, I have no intention of bringing harm to you."

Tinkermon let down light tears before giving the boy a hug and exclaiming, "I knew deep down you couldn't possibly be a bad guy! Don't scare me like that again!" Petermon sighing, "Just for the record, I'm still not into romance."

And with that, things had taken a turn for the better as the girls decided to extend their rest. After such a hard fight, they needed it.

Tinkermon gave them plenty of fruit for their travels and had apologized at least five times for the duration of their stay. She could not help but feel horrible for having attacked them like she had, though the one even more apologetic was Petermon. He had a much better reason to be sorry, but of course, the girls simply found themselves wishing the two would stop trying so hard to make their point.

Now that Yaamon had his memories back, he was no longer shy around other Digimon. As such, he soon made friends with the others. Despite his history of once being the virus' top fighter, the kids did not have as much trouble trusting him as most would have. But the best part was that now he could lead the girls to the virus' home since he could finally communicate with them again.

And after a couple of hours, the girls were ready to take off. Sure, the extra rest lost them quite a bit of time, but it was better than going into enemy territory while being low on strength.

But just as Petermon was ready to open the portal for them, Tinkermon tapped Akari on the shoulder. The redhead turned as the fairy handed her a seashell necklace and said, "I want you to keep this as a reminder of our friendship."

Akari smiled lightly and took it while the fairy grinned and added, "You know, Akari, I think you're really cool."

The redhead flashed the fairy one last smile before the girls exited the area. Petermon took a deep breath and sighed, "They got Beelzemon on their side. And I didn't think they'd be capable of defeating the virus."

The boy then let out a sigh and said, "I know I've said this more than enough, but I'm really sorry for using you like that," the fairy shaking her head and replying, "Well, I'm still a little bit mad at your for lying, but you know, creating a haven for Digimon to live in peace was a good idea, though maybe we should remove the catch that those who enter never grow up. I heard Bearmon and Dorumon talking about how they'd love to Digivolve someday."

"Well, we created the rule," Petermon replied, "I guess we can take it away."

With all said and done, the girls were back in the city. But even with their strength back, they did not wish to waste time fighting every infected Digimon they came across. After all, the girls in the human world were taking care of them and for all the girls knew, the virus could reach full power soon.

While discussing the details, Akari turned to Yaamon and asked, "Hey, Yaamon, do you know of any safe places to move around here?" the child thinking this over for a few seconds before replying "Actually, there should be an underground tunnel somewhere. It's for emergencies only, so I doubt many Digimon would be using it. Though I wouldn't be too surprised if there was a guard or two at the entrance."

"That's nothing we can't handle," Cho replied with a grin as the others nodded and followed Yaamon.

The child led them to a passageway, and it was just as predicted. A skinny android was standing watch with a blank look in his eyes.

"It's an Andromon," Yaamon stated, "They look weak, but they're actually quite powerful. Luckily there's only one of them."

With that, the girls nodded and pulled out their diamonds, once again taking on their hero forms. Once that was taken care of, the girls stepped out into the open as the android turned to them and narrowed his eyelids.

The android wasted no time firing a pair of missiles out of his chest. Hazuki wasted no time taking out one of them with a dark blast of energy while shouting, "DEATH HAND!" while Chise blew up the other by rolling into it in her shell and exclaiming, "DIAMOND SHELL!" Thanks to the material, the missile did nothing to her.

The android narrowed his eyelids and fired a blade of energy from his arm module. However, the girls easily dodged this as Asami shouted, "FEATHER STRIKE!" and hurled her feather into the android's neck.

"LIGHTNING PAW!" Akari exclaimed while slashing it hard, Cho delivering the final blow as she spat, "ROLLING UPPER!" and rammed herself hard into his chest.

With that, the Andromon formed into data and flew away from the area as Yaamon said, "Wow, you just beat an ultimate with little to no effort. No wonder you beat me."

But while he and the girls entered the tunnel, they failed to notice a chrysalis floating nearby. It wasted no time exiting the area to let the virus know that Petermon had failed to take care of the girls.

Just as Yaamon had predicted, the tunnel was a very safe place for the girls to travel. No Digimon inhabited it so no one could try and stop them. Needless to say, this journey was going more smoothly than they initially thought it would go and it was all thanks to their new friend.

During this time, though, the chrysalis had returned to the palace as if entered the virus' room. The spider turned his head with interest as his servant wasted no time showing him the image of the girls defeating the Andromon and entering the tunnel.

"So Petermon couldn't defeat them," the virus said with a sigh, "These girls are proving to be a real pain. I guess there's only one other thing I can do."

With that, the virus turned to the chrysalis and stated, "Bring Commandramon here right now. I have a job for him."

Soon enough, the chrysalis returned with the dinosaur general by his side. Commandramon wasted no time giving an army salute as the virus sighed, "Please, you don't need to do that every time I summon you."

"Sorry, it's an impulse," the dinosaur replied before asking, "Anyway, you wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes," the virus replied, "I have tried everything to keep those girls off my back. I've tried sending my strongest soldiers, I've separated them from each-other, I've used psychological warfare, I've even had Leomon killed. They've now entered my territory and yet somehow, they have an in-training level Digimon with them who knows how to avoid my army."

"Wow, I must say, they're really proving to be a challenge," Commandramon replied as the spider nodded and replied, "Yes. I've run low on ideas now. I was wondering if maybe you had some advice."

The dinosaur's eyes sparkled as he asked, "You mean you want my input, sir?" the virus replying, "Yes, your idea of sending the tanks may have ended in failure, but it was close to succeeding. Perhaps you have something else."

"Actually, I think I might have an idea," Commandramon replied, "Recently, I accept three new recruits in my army, the Mamemon siblings."

"You mean the offspring of Princemamemon of Sphere Town?" the virus asked as the dinosaur nodded and replied, "Yes. As you know, he's immune to your power as are his kids."

"In that case, how did you get them on our side?" the virus asked as Commandramon replied, "It's a funny story, actually. Turns out they value power over family. They heard that you possess much more power than their father and decided it would make more sense to fight on our side."

"Seems like a wise decision," the spider replied, "But do you think they might be good enough?"

"I'm positive, sir," Commandramon replied, "All four of them are ultimate level Digimon and have proven themselves beyond useful. I think they'll do a great job, sir."

"Very well," the virus replied, "I'd like you to go with them and make sure they do a good job, maybe even help out a bit. With the potential these girls have shown, I can't take my chances."

"Yes, sir!" Commandramon replied with a great deal of excitement, "I've been waiting for this! Thank you so much!" the dinosaur exiting the room.

However, his excitement quickly became uncertainty. He had almost forgotten about Akari's words to Beelzemon. Could the girl be right? Was he following the wrong path?

But just as quickly as the thought entered his mind, Commandramon shook his head and sighed, "No, your job is to make sure the virus succeeds. He's going to succeed and you're going to help him with that! It's your duty, soldier!"

With that, the dinosaur took a deep breath and headed off to a training facility. But would these Mamemon siblings be the big threat he said they were?


	32. Chapter 32

Thank to Yaamon's advice, the girls had made it out of the city without having to fight anymore Digimon. Akari was beyond grateful as she gave the child a hug, squealing, "Thank you so much!"

"No problem, kid," Yaamon replied, "but this is only the beginning. It's gonna be a long time until we reach the virus' home. Do you think you can manage a lot of walking?"

Cho grinned and replied, "Of course," Asami sighing, "Well, it's for the world. I guess I can manage."

Chise, on the other hand, looked unsure as Cho flashed her a smile and said, "Don't worry, darling. If you get tired, I'll carry you," the blond's cheeks beet red.

"Say, where are we headed next?" Hazuki asked as Yaamon replied, "Well, there are two options, Sphere Town and Happy Garden. Happy Garden is closer and more direct, so we could easily reach that place by nightfall."

"Sounds like an ideal resting place to me," Akari said with a light smile. However, Yaamon would have to agree as he stated, "Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend it. All of the Digimon there have been infected, so you won't be able to go anywhere without being attacked. Sphere Town may be farther away and it's not quite as nice a place to be, but it's a lot safer."

The girls were curious as to what the kid meant by that as he added, "I have absolutely no idea how this happened, but something about that place is able to repel the virus' powers. To the best of my knowledge, the king and queen along with their kids are immune to the virus' power, but not everyone else is and yet somehow, they've all managed to avoid succumbing to the curse. Thus is only stands to reason that Sphere Town is the safest place we can possibly stop to rest at this point."

"Well, a peaceful rest does sound more inviting than an early one," Asami replied, "To Sphere Town it is, then," the others nodding in agreement.

With that, the group headed through a jungle, Yaamon showing them the right places to go to avoid being seen by infected Digimon. And just like with the city, his advice had really helped. And soon enough, the girls arrived at Sphere City and just in time for dinner.

Upon seeing it, Cho blinked and uttered, "I can't see why they call it Sphere City."

The name certainly seemed fitting as all of the buildings were spherical. And it was not just the buildings either. The directional signs were attached to iron balls while the path was made of round stones. Some of the Digimon here even had clear plastic balls with wheels bound to them like rubber bands for transportation.

Though most of all, every single Digimon that lived here was, in fact, round. There were small pink fluff balls with wings, blue spheres with lightning bolt emblems on their foreheads and many others.

Chise beamed at the sight of this as she squealed, "The Digimon here are so cute!" as Cho noticed a metal ball with horns and a chainsaw before asking, "Including that one?"

The blond then trembled and whimpered, "Okay, never mind," as the blue-haired girl rolled her eyes and patted her girlfriend on the shoulder.

Hazuki rolled her eyes and asked, "So, Yaamon, where would you suggest we go?" the child replying, "Honestly, any place is good here. If you want to stop for dinner, I know of a good nearby restaurant, and don't worry about money. This is one of those places that doesn't require currency."

"That's good," Akari replied with a big grin, Yaamon adding, "As for spending the night, I know a decent hotel. None of the hotels here are great, but they work well enough."

"It's truly amazing that earlier today, you were just a baby," Asami stated with wonder in her eyes, "You truly are a gift from the heavens."

Yaamon let out a sigh and rolled his eyes before showing the two around. But just as they were about to head further, one the blue spherical beings dashed in front of two with a camera and exclaimed, "Hello, guests! Would you like a photo!?"

Asami smiled and said, "Worry not, I have my phone," before pulling out her cellphone and taking a snapshot of the Digimon before her. The then smiled wide and squealed, "You are just too cute!"

The ball-like creature blushed lightly and replied, "Thanks, I meant of you six together. I offer this to every tourist, though it hasn't happened lately since that virus took away my business."

Akari smiled wide and replied, "I'd be happy to pose for you," before turning to the others and whispering, "He might not get a chance like this for a while."

The others nodded and stood together. Once all were in view of the camera, they all gave their own poses. Akari gave her usual warm smile and held Yaamon in her hands while Cho grinned and held up two fingers, giving the redhead rabbit ears. Chise was a tad nervous but managed to put a light smile on her face with her hands behind her back. Hazuki decided to give a sexy pose while winking to the camera and Asami stood more like a fashion model posing for a magazine ad.

With that, the Digimon took a photo and pressed a button in the middle thus allowing for a copy of the picture to slide out of the camera's slot. With that, he handed them the photo and said, "Pleasure doing business with you," before taking off in a streak of lightning.

"What a nice Digimon," Akari said as Cho asked, "Wait, I'm confused. If no one needs money to survive here, why does anyone even have a job?"

"Some Digimon see it as a way to help get them through the day," Yaamon replied, "When you got nothing important to do, life can get a little boring. Before I became a slave to the virus, I was just wandering the Digital World with no real aim in life."

"Sounds lonely," Chise uttered as the child let out a sigh and uttered, "Tell me about it."

However, as it just so happened, there was another reason the blue sphere had taken their photo. This would soon be made clear when he raced all the way to a castle where, of course, every piece of it was shaped like a ball. He knocked a couple of times on the door as it was soon opened for him.

He then proceeded to race into the throne room while panting heavily. Seated there was a yellow ball-like being dressed in a red and white cape, a golden crown, royal leggings, blue sleeves and white gloves. Next to him was his darling wife, one of the pink furry Digimon with wings, though to separate herself from the others, she wore a tiara and a pair of golden bracelets.

"Princemamemon, your highness, I come with great news!" the blue sphere stated while taking a bow.

The king rose an eyebrow and replied, "Well, that's good to hear. I could use some good news. What have you got for me, Thundermon?" the queen equally interested.

The Digimon quickly pressed the middle button on his camera as a second copy of the photo he had taken earlier slid out of the slot. He then proceeded to hand it over to the king as his eyes widened. He simply could not believe what he had seen, but he must have liked it as a big grin crossed his eyes.

"Do you know those Digimon, honey?" the queen asked as the king replied, "I have an idea of who they are because those are not Digimon at all. They are humans," the queen's eyes sparkling.

"Seek them out and invite them here for dinner right away!" Princemamemon exclaimed as Thundermon bowed his head and replied, "Yes, my liege!" before once again speeding away while leaving a lightning bolt behind.

During this time, Yaamon had led the girls to the restaurant he had mentioned earlier. It had a decent setup but nothing too special. If anything, the girls were simply relieved that the table simply had a round top and was not spherical like they feared it would be.

Though they did find it rather strange and a tad off-putting that only round food was on the menu. Meatballs and Brussels sprouts seemed to be a major highlight, and while most of the girls at least liked the former, only Akari and Asami felt like eating the latter.

But as the girls were ready to order, the Thundermon from earlier burst into the building and stopped in front of the girls while breathing heavily and uttering, "Put down the menus. You don't..." then taking a deep breath, he added, "need them."

"Oh, it's the guy who took our picture," Akari said with a sweet smile as Cho asked, "What do you mean we don't need our menus?"

"You've been invited to the castle by our king, Princemamemon," the Thundermon replied, Yaamon's eyes going wide as he asked, "Why?"

"He didn't specify, but he wants you over for dinner," the Digimon replied as Cho shrugged and said, "Well, we get a free dinner out of it. Why not?"

"Sounds a tad suspicious to me," Hazuki whispered as Akari nudged the goth and uttered, "That's rude." Then then sported a friendly smile and said, "We'll come right away."

"Great," the Thundermon replied, "But because I know you can't possibly keep up with me, I'll walk you there."

Akari bowed her head in respect while the girls and Yaamon followed the Thundermon. And soon, enough, they were all led to the castle as Asami turned to Hazuki and whispered, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but the swamp castle was nicer."

The goth snickered and replied, "Quiet, he might hear you," the Thundermon turning around with a grin and asking, "Are you telling jokes? I like jokes!"

The girls stared awkwardly as Hazuki uttered, "Sure," the blue sphere grinning as he said, "Well, I got a real winner for you. What did the light bulb say to the generator?"

The girls stared silently until he exclaimed, "I really get a charge out of you!" Hazuki staring silently while Asami snickered and said, "I get it. That's pretty clever."

"It's also a really old joke," Hazuki remarked as the Thundermon flashed Asami a grin and stated, "You, ma'am, are a woman of taste."

"Are you gonna stand there cracking jokes or are you going to let us inside?" Yaamon asked as the Thundermon blinked and replied, "Oh yeah, sorry about that."

With that, the sphere knocked on the door as it was soon opened up by a couple of metal spheres with horns and chainsaws. Chise squeaked as the Thundermon said, "Don't worry, the Giromon are okay. They may look intimidating, but they only attack those who pose a serious threat. They're actually quite friendly underneath their menacing exteriors."

The blond blinked and gave the guards a light smile. And just as the Thundermon had implied, they responded with friendly grins and gave the girls a wave. This was more than enough to calm the girl down.

Soon enough, the girls were brought to the dining hall where it seemed they were currently the only ones seated for dinner. But that would not be the case for long as Princemamemon and his wife entered before taking a seat.

The girls immediately bowed their heads as Princemamemon replied, "Oh, there is no need for pleasantries. Welcome to Sphere Town. I am Princemamemon and this is my darling wife, Queen Piximon."

The queen seemed fixated on the girls as she said, "So you're the creatures who made us," Cho laughing nervously and replying, "Well, one member of our kind made you."

"So why did you invite us here?" Yaamon asked as Piximon sighed, "We regret to tell you that this is for a rather selfish reason."

"Yes," Princemamemon replied as Asami added, "Speaking of which, Yaamon told us you had kids. I would very much like to meet them."

"We're getting to that," Princemamemon replied as the girls gave their full interest, the yellow sphere adding, "Lord knows why, but recently, all three of our children decided to run off in the middle of the night. As if that's not bad enough, they left this note."

The king and queen looked at one-another as Piximon nodded, Princemamemon taking a deep breath and handing the paper to the girls. Akari opened it up and looked at the words, her eyes widening as a light gasp escaped from her mouth.

"Whoa, what does it say?" Cho asked as the others gathered around, the other four having a similar reaction.

"I still can't figure it out," Princemamemon sighed while pinching his temple, "Why would they want to join the virus? I could understand if they were afraid of becoming infected, but our family is immune to the virus."

"Do they know that?" Hazuki asked as Piximon nodded and replied, "Oh yes, we have assured them of that fact many times. That is what troubles us. They want to serve the virus."

"How do you know that's the case?" Akari asked as the others turned to her. The redhead then gave a sweet smile and added, "They might just be pretending so they can go undercover and learn of a weakness or something like that. The virus might not know of their immunity."

Princemamemon shook his head and replied, "No, if they were undercover, they would have told us. They may not be the most honest Digimon in the world, but even they wouldn't hide something like that from us."

Akari looked down. Now she was unsure of whether or not she could find a bright side as Piximon stated, "Anyway, the point we are trying to make is that we want you to find them and perhaps teach them a lesson."

The girls were rather surprised by this as Princemamemon added, "Well, we had heard that humans with powers from Ophanimon had been summoned here. We had a feeling it was you," the girl nodding as the queen handed over a photo of all three kids to the girls.

One was a small grey ball with cat-like lips and red boxing gloves. Another had a very similar look but seemed to have more mellow eyes and was five times the first one's size. And while the first one wore red shoes, the big one wore black combat boots. The last one was an orange sphere wearing a silver helmet. The Digimon's left arm was a blaster cannon and the right arm was a normal hand with a red glove and three metal claws attached to the wrists.

"They're all so cute!" Chise squealed as Hazuki sighed, "They're also against us, remember?"

"Don't be fooled by their appearances," Princemamemon stated before pointing at the small grey one and the orange one while saying, "These two are our daughters, Mamemon and Metalmamemon."

He then pointed at the big one and added, "And this is our son, Bigmamemon. He's the youngest," Cho finding that rather hard to believe.

"They used to be such gentle and kind souls," Piximon said with a sigh as the king patted her on the shoulder.

"Well, we'll see what we can do," Hazuki said as the queen added, "Promise me you-"

"Don't worry, we won't," Akari said with a sweet smile, Princemamemon uttering, "You didn't hear the whole request."

"We don't need to," Cho replied with a grin, "Trust me, Akari's just that kind of person. You have nothing to worry about."

But just as the girls were about to head off, Princemamemon stated, "It's kind of late now. You're free to spend the night here if you wish."

"Oh, right, we were going to look for a place to stay, weren't we?" Cho asked as the others nodded, Asami saying, "I can't believe it. Even I just about forgot."

However, unbeknownst to the girls and everyone else in Sphere Town, their targets were not too far from where they were. In fact, they were headed toward the kingdom right now with Commandramon leading them.

"I don't know, but I've been told!" the dinosaur chanted only to get no response before frowning and sighing, "For goodness' sake, why can't you ever join into these?"

"Because they're stupid," Mamemon remarked with a shrug, "Seriously, they're pointless words that have nothing to do with the mission. All I want to think about is the look on Dad's face when he finds out we joined the winning team, not some stupid war chant."

"They are not stupid!" Commandramon retorted with a look of irritation, "The military cadence is to control breathing! And it's also tradition in the human world!"

"Yeah, but this isn't the human world," Mamemon retorted as Bigmamemon uttered, "Well, I think the song is kind of cool. It rhymes but also sounds intimidating."

"Well, why don't you ever do it then?" Commandramon asked, the big sphere replying, "I don't want to be an outcast."

"And you, Metalmamemon?" Commandramon asked, the orange sphere having a scared look in her eyes while she uttered, "I can't remember the lines. I'm afraid of messing up. Please don't hurt me!"

The dinosaur blinked and thought, 'If they weren't so good in combat, I'd swear they weren't ready for this.'

Soon enough, the four Digimon arrived at Sphere Town as the general asked, "Are you ready!?" Mamemon and Bigmamemon exclaiming, "READY!"

However, Metalmamemon was trembling as Mamemon smacked her on the back of the head and said, "Come on, sis, you can do this."

The red sphere nodded and uttered, "Yes sir," Commandramon rolling his eyes and sighing, "Good enough," before marching toward the entrance along with the others.

During this time, the girls had just finished dinner, which of course consisted of nothing but spherical foods. But just as they were about to be shown to their guest rooms, the Thundermon from earlier sped into the dining hall and exclaimed, "I HAVE BAD NEWS!"

Suddenly, an explosion was heard outside as Princemamemon and Piximon both went wide-eyed. They did not feel they needed to hear more. Clearly they were under attack.

"We gotta help them," Cho said as she got up only for Princemamemon to reply, "Most of the attacks we get are from champion level Digimon. It's nothing the majority of our citizens can't handle."

"Actually, it's worse than that," the Thundermon replied, "It's your kids. They're being led by a Commandramon."

Yaamon's eyes widened briefly as Akari looked at the child with concern. There was no way he had forgotten about the very dinosaur who had killed him.

Princemamemon let out a sigh and said, "Girls, I hate to burden you with this so soon, but-"

"Relax," Cho replied with a grin, "We already promised we'd take care of them. Leave this to us."

The king bowed his head and replied, "Thank you so much," as the girls headed out to deal with the threat.


	33. Chapter 33

Things were looking bad for Sphere Town as the Mamemon siblings were not only causing trouble, but everyone seemed afraid to try and stop them. There were a few who could have stood up to them, but these kids were members of the royal family. None of the citizens would dare mess with them.

Mamemon fired a red energy blast into a building as an explosion that resembled fireworks formed, the round girl saying, "Wow, that felt great. I didn't think causing destruction could be so much fun."

Big Mamemon unleashed a similar ball of energy, only his was three times the size of Mamemon's. Needless to say, the destruction this caused was even greater. However, while his older sister was enjoying this, he had a more serious look on his face.

Metalmamemon closed her eyes tight while sending a blast of energy from her arm cannon. This blew up another building as she winced at the sound.

Mamemon rolled her eyes and sighed, "If you weren't ready for this, why did you bother joining the virus' army?"

"I did it because you said it was the right path," Metalmamemon replied, "But I don't know about this. This seems wrong. We're destroying our home."

"And notice that everyone is powerless to stop us," Mamemon replied with a smirk, "Come on, it's like I said. The more powerful leader is the one worth following. I'm the oldest, so what I say goes!"

Metalmamemon let out a sigh and let loose another blast while Commandramon said, "Good work, soldiers, but don't forget, we're simply trying to lure out the heroes."

"I know," Mamemon remarked before rolling her eyes, "Did you think we were born yesterday?" the dinosaur sighing, "Just try to remember who your commanding officer is."

However, it seemed that things would not be so easy for the spheres as the girls were headed into the line of battle right now. But while they would certainly stop the siblings from destroying the kingdom, they also had to make sure they did not end up killing any of them. Though they had no intention of doing so anyway.

Commandramon's eyes widened as he turned to the spheres and exclaimed, "Targets dead ahead! Open fire!"

But as Metalmamemon and Bigmamemon prepared to do so, Mamemon held out her hand and said, "Nope. We're gonna wait."

"HEY, I GAVE YOU A DIRECT ORDER!" the dinosaur retorted as the female sphere sighed, "Look, I know how important this is, but I want to face them in their Digimon hybrid forms. Trust me, sir, we can handle this."

"Are you sure?" Bigmamemon asked, "They did take down Beelzemon, remember?" Mamemon shrugging and replying, "True, but that was one mega level. We're three ultimates. Combined, we're at least one-and-a-half times stronger than one mega."

Commandramon let out a sigh and thought, 'At least she's got high spirit, though clearly that girl has no clue how powerful Beelzemon was. But at the very least, I do have permission to help them."

With that, the dinosaur pulled out his rifle as Mamemon asked, "Permission to beat them without your help, sir?"

"Now you actually ask for my input?" the dinosaur remarked, but it was too late to carry on the conversation as the girls were now standing before the four Digimon, Yaamon staying behind as he knew he would not be of much help in his current state.

Commandramon gulped and stated, "Permission denied, soldier," as Mamemon shrugged and said, "That I'm actually okay with."

However, Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon both looked uncertain about this. It was as if deep down, they had never really wanted to do this in the first place. But why did they serve the virus if that was the case? Whatever the reason, no one would be finding out any time soon.

But it seemed Akari certainly wondered as she asked, "Why are you doing this? Why would you opposed your own parents? You don't have to do this."

"It's simple," Mamemon replied with a smirk before turning toward the other two and adding, "You know what? You two can explain it. I'm getting a little tired of being the only one with the guts to say it."

"Um..." Metalmamemon uttered as Bigmamemon cut in and stated, "It's because the virus is clearly the more powerful being, and the more powerful the leader is, the more he is worth serving."

While say this, he had a look of uncertainty on his face as if he did not mean a word of it. Mamemon, all the while, grinned and patted him on the back. However, she also scowled at her sister for not mustering up the courage to recite even one line of that.

"As you can see, they know the right course of action when they see it," Commandramon stated, "I recommend you do the same before it's too late."

However, the girls simply stared as Asami said, "Look, I may be from the richest family in all of Tokyo, but even I think that is complete and utter bullocks. You'd serve someone evil just because he knows how to throw a decent punch? You are the most shallow Digimon I have ever met."

Metalmamemon looked at the ground as deep down, she agreed with them. But she would not reveal that as she gulped and forced a serious look into her eyes. With that, she pointed her arm cannon at them and exclaimed in a shaky voice, "Shallow or not, we're still going to beat you!"

Mamemon whistled in admiration and said, "Well said, sis," patting the orange sphere on the back.

With that, Cho took a deep breath and said, "Well, girls, looks like we don't have a choice," and with that, all five pulled out their diamonds and transformed. However, Mamemon looked a tad underwhelmed.

"That's it?" the sphere asked, "Three of them are rookies and the other two are champions. You were worried about this?" Commandramon sighing, "I've seen them damage a mega level Digimon in these forms. Don't underestimate them."

Metalmamemon's fear was starting to return but she took a deep breath and figured she may as well tough it out. She knew her sister would scold her otherwise.

With that out of the way, all three sent blast of red energy toward the girls. Chise quickly tucked herself into her shell to avoid taking in pain while the others dodged in their own way. However, Asami and Hazuki were both targeted by Bigmamemon and since his blasts were three times the size of Mamemon's, they were unable to avoid taking in a slight impact from the explosion, the girls being sent higher into the air.

"LIGHTNING PAW!" Akari exclaimed as she lunged at Mamemon with her claws at the ready. However, the sphere easily dodged to the side and punched the cat girl hard in the gut, her eyes and mouth wide open.

She then received a punch to the side of her head while Cho charged at her with her fists at the ready. But just as the blue-haired girl was about to strike, Bigmamemon stood in front of her. With that, the girl changed her strategy and exclaimed, "GAO RUSH!" sending an onslaught of rapid punches into the big sphere's gut.

However, while Bigmamemon certainly felt pain, due to his immense size, this ended up being minimal as he swung his fist downward, hitting the girl hard atop the head. With that, he sent a hard kick to her midsection while Chise fumed and rolled into him while shouting, "DIAMOND SHELL!"

However, while this also dealt small pain, Bigmamemon barely felt a thing as the blond bounced off of him like a trampoline. Needless to say, he would not be an easy opponent.

Hazuki and Asami would have helped but currently, both were being shot at by Metalmamemon and Commandramon. The dinosaur was using his rifle in an attempt to hunt them down while Metalmamemon was firing energy blasts from her arm cannon.

Once Hazuki saw an opening, she pointed her hand at Metalmamemon and exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" only to take in a bullet to the shoulder courtesy of Commandramon, the goth wincing in pain and holding that very spot.

Asami, all the while, expertly picked her feather off of her head belt while dodging energy blasts and shouted, "FEATHER STRIKE!" sending it hard into the orange sphere's forehead.

Unfortunately, since her head was encased in armour, this had no effect as the rich girl took in a bullet of her own, Commandramon's eyes sparkling as he thought, 'We're actually winning!' As if that was not bad enough, Asami's wings were her arms now, so she was unable to fly for the time being as she spiralled head-first into the ground.

Seeing this, Akari hissed and send a kick into the side of Mamemon's head. This provided just enough of a distraction for her to race toward the orange sphere and dinosaur. Bigmamemon tried to get in her way but Cho and Chise body rammed themselves into his wide thus causing him to fall on his other side.

Commandramon saw the cat girl coming and said, "Metalmamemon, take care of her. I got these two," Hazuki and Asami both trying their best to ignore the bullet bounds on their shoulders, blood trickling down from those very spots.

The orange sphere turned toward Akari and pointed her gun at the girl. However, seeing Mamemon and Bigmamemon in front of her, she figured it would not be a good idea. After all, if she ended up missing, that would be bad news for her siblings.

With that, she instead held up her normal hand and threw her claws out, Akari doing the same with hers. Both claws clashed now as Akari sent rapid swipes toward her. However, since the cat girl was using two hands and Metalmamemon only had one, the orange sphere was soon overwhelmed as she ended up taking a scratch to her helmet.

Though like before, this dealt next to nothing as Metalmamemon took full advantage of this, sending a slash into Akari's cheek and leaving a big gash. The girl squeaked in pain and backed away, breathing heavily.

All the while, Commandramon continued to fire at Hazuki while Asami was still trying her best to recover. But while she attempted to do so, her eyes widened as Mamemon sent a huge energy blast toward her, the rich girl unable to dodge as she flew backwards.

"God, you're pathetic!" Mamemon exclaimed with a laugh, "And to think our general was afraid of you!"

"Don't count us out just yet!" Cho retorted as the girls all nodded at each-other. With that, Cho, Chise and Asami closed their eyes and thought, 'Give me the power to save the world!'

With that, Cho's headband became a scarf as her clothes switched colours. Chise was now wearing a tube top and a spiked shell and had a tail with a mace on the tip. Asami's wings were on her back as she had a pair of bull horns. Now the three had entered their champion levels.

Mamemon blinked and said, "So they have the power to Digivolve. Not bad," Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon all the while feeling a little intimidated. However, while the orange sphere had trouble hiding this fact, the younger brother managed to do so with a mellow expression. After all, neither wanted their older sister knowing they were scared.

Commandramon, on the other hand, was worried now as he wasted no time opening fire on Asami again. However, now that she had new wings that had not been injured, she flew into the air just in time to avoid taking in another bullet. With that, she opened her mouth and exclaimed, "BLAST RINGS!" releasing ring-like beams at the dinosaur and knocking him hard on his back.

Bigmamemon gulped as Cho gave Chise a boost into the air thus allowing the girl to performed a vertical flip toward him. She then proceeded to ram her tail into his forehead while shouting, "TAIL HAMMER!"

Unlike before, Bigmamemon took in visible pain as his eyes started to spin. And to make things harder for him, Cho added to the damage while sending an energy slash through him and exclaiming, "DASH DOUBLE CLAW!"

Mamemon gritted her teeth and launched a ball of energy toward Cho only for Chise to swerve in front of the blue-haired girl and block the incoming blast with her shell. Sure, it ended up hurting her a bit, but it was nowhere close to being fatal.

Akari took this chance to lunge at Mamemon only for Metalmamemon to come at her from behind. However, Hazuki would not allow this as she flew over to the orange sphere and picked her up by her shoulders, lifting her up and slamming her into the ground like a basketball.

Mamemon sent a punch toward Akari when she was close enough, but the girl saw this coming. As such, she used her tail to lock the sphere's arm in place before sending a hard punch into her forehead. With the added force of her claws, this dealt incredible pain as Mamemon rolled away from her.

Once she recovered, the sphere gritted her teeth and spat, "How are they so strong!? They're champions, we're ultimates! By logic standards, we should be stronger!"

"I explained this to you on the way here," Commandramon remarked while slowly rising to his feet, "Their human DNA makes them physically stronger than the Digimon inside their diamonds."

Bigmamemon gulped and uttered, "Maybe we should apologize to Mom and Dad," only for Mamemon to glare at him as he said, "Sorry. I didn't know what I was saying."

Metalmamemon on the other hand would have loved that, but she knew her sister would not approve. As such, the spheres did their best to ignore the pain dealt to them and continue fighting.

With that, all three turned to each-other and nodded, Mamemon asking, "Permission to use last-minute resort?" Commandramon nodding and replying, "Granted," as he pulled out a small bomb from his pack and sighing, "Alright, I only got one of these."

"Careful, guys, they're planning something," Hazuki stated as the others nodded and readied themselves.

With that, the dinosaur hurled his bomb forward as what happened next was not what anyone would have expected. All three spheres fired their energy blasts toward the bomb, but rather than blowing it up, it instead form a huge sphere of energy around the projectile. Seeing this coming, the girls immediately tried to make run for it.

But just as it hit the ground shortly behind them, a huge explosion erupted, one so big that even the Digimon distanced themselves from it before it went off. A huge cloud of smoke filled the area as Princemamemon watched this from the castle with a pair of binoculars, his eyes wide with shock.

"What's going on?" Yaamon asked as Piximon added, "Are they okay?" the king gulping and uttering, "I don't know."

As the smoke cleared, the girls were lying on the ground. To make matters worse, neither of them were moving. It seemed the attack was just as devastating as it looked. The other citizens peered out of their homes at what had just happened, horror in their expressions. The prince and princesses of the Sphere Empire had just killed the only hope the Digital World had.

Mamemon let out a big laugh and exclaimed, "Wow! That was awesome! They actually put up a decent fight, but in the end, they were no match for us!"

Bigmamemon simply kept a mellow expression on his face and said, "Yeah, we sure showed them," Metalmamemon trying to resist the urge to cry. She had just murdered five people and all for the sake of being rebellious.

Commandramon, all the while, had no idea how to feel about this. He should have been thrilled. After all, he and his soldiers had just succeeded at doing what not even the great Beelzemon and Minervamon could accomplish. And yet a part of this just felt wrong.

But even so, he took a deep breath and remembered that this was his duty. As such, the dinosaur said, "I'm mighty proud of you today. You have truly surpassed my expectations and I can only expect more from the future," Mamemon giving an army salute and exclaiming, "Yes sir!"

But just as the group was about to leave, the spheres stopped in their tracks when a familiar male voice exclaimed, "STOP!"

All three turned to see their father and mother standing there, Yaamon jumping in front of them and growling at Commandramon. The dinosaur blinked as something seemed awfully familiar about the child, but right now, the king and queen were much more important.

"Oh look, Dad finally musters up the courage to come out," Mamemon stated in a smug tone while Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon were trying their best not to panic.

"Kids, I want to know something," Princemamemon said with a sigh, "Why?"

Piximon pulled out the note they had left with tears in her eyes and sniffed, "Where did we go wrong? Were we bad parents? We're sorry if we ever did anything to upset you!"

Metalmamemon and Bigmamemon were both filling up with guilt right now. The last thing they had wanted was to have their parents blame themselves for this. And deep down inside, even Mamemon, who had kept a cool head through this whole ordeal, was starting to feel bad about this.

However, before either could muster up the courage to answer, Commandramon stepped forward and stated, "I can assure you this has nothing to do with your parenting skills. It's all about your power."

"Our power?" Princemamemon asked as Mamemon nodded and replied in a slightly shaky tone, "That's right, Dad. The virus is much stronger than you, so he's the one we should be serving if we're to survive in this world. Even you can't deny that."

The other two spheres simply nodded but were not sure if they really meant it. Once again, they were afraid of how their older sister would react if they did.

Princemamemon let out a sigh as Yaamon bit his lip. He had trouble speaking up against these words as even he had believed them at a time. However, while he had trouble finding the right words in response to this, the king had a few of his own as he stepped forward and clenched his fists.

"Kids, in all my years of living, I have never been mad at you," Princemamemon stated as Piximon stared with concern, "Even when you did something wrong, I never once lost my temper. But this is unforgivable. Even if you had a good reason for betraying the entire kingdom, I would never just sit back and accept it!"

With that, the yellow sphere crossed his arms in front of his face, Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon trembling as they knew what was coming. However, Mamemon simply folded her arms as if taunting him to go further.

With that, the king leaned his body back before reeling it back forward. With that, he launched himself toward his oldest child like a huge bullet, aiming his skull toward her.

However, Mamemon was more than ready as she smirked and wound up her arms. And just as the king closed in, she sent both of her fists forward and planted them into his skull. Despite him being a mega level while she was ultimate, the combined force of her fists proved more than enough to overpower the king as he rolled into the wall of a house, his eyes closing as he was now unconscious.

"NO!" Piximon exclaimed in terror as Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon stared in shock. No there was no doubt in their mind. After their sister had done such a horrible thing, they felt there was no turning back.

The queen turned to them with a look of fury and exclaimed, "OKAY, THAT IS IT! YOU ALL DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED!" but as she held up a spear, Mamemon smirked and, "Well, Mom? I'm ready."

Piximon trembled as she lowered her spear and dropped it on the ground. She fell to her hands and let out a sigh. She simply could not bring herself to go through with this. Even after all they had done, she could not bring harm to her own children even if they did deserve it.

"I'll give Dad credit," Mamemon stated, "At least he had the balls to stand up to us. Come on, let's go."

Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon hesitated for a few seconds but ultimately agreed. But just as they turned around, their eyes widened when they heard the sound of a girl grunting. And as it just so happened, those grunts belonged to Cho as she slowly pushed herself back to her feet and breathed heavily, the other four following.

Yaamon's eyes and mouth were wide open before he sighed, "I really should have known better. Not even a big explosion like that can take them down," Commandramon trembling in fear.

Chise shivered while she whimpered, "Cho, that was scary," the blue-haired girl giving her a hug and saying, "Don't worry. We're okay now."

"Not quite," Hazuki remarked, "We still have to deal with these four," the spheres staring in shock.

However, Mamemon's surprised look faded as she smirked and said, "Well, you managed to survive the Ultimate Smiley Bomb. Hardly matters, though. You're clearly in no condition to be fighting right now."

Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon had to admit their sister had a point, but their fear returned when Asami stated, "Actually, I would say we are in the perfect condition to be fighting right now."

With that, Akari, Cho, Hazuki and Asami's bodies all glowed as they became their ultimate levels. Akari took on the form of an angel with eight wings while Cho now had metal forearms, legs and a metal breastplate covering her chest. Hazuki had become a pale vampire with blond hair and a blue suit and Asami had blond hair of her own, a headband, longer wings and black shorts.

"They can Digivolve to ultimate?" Mamemon asked as Commandramon gulped, "Well, before it was only two of them. This could not get any worse."

But just as he said that, Akari formed a ring over her head as light rained down on the area, the girl exclaiming, "HOLY AIR!"

With that, most of the girls' wounds had healed while all four Digimon before them were paralysed. Cho gave Piximon a thumb up and a grin while the queen nodded and distanced herself from the area. Now things had certainly taken a turn for the better, but would this be enough? After all, ultimate levels lasted a shorter period of time than champion levels. They had barely managed to keep those long enough to reach this point.


	34. Chapter 34

With Akari, Cho, Hazuki and Asami at their ultimate levels, things were finally picking up. After all, they were up against three ultimate Digimon and a rookie and thanks to their human DNA, their strength was even greater than that of most ultimate Digimon. And since all four opponents were paralysed, they had a huge advantage.

Cho charged toward Bigmamemon and exclaimed, "Hey, Chise, what say we take this guy down together!?" the blond nodding as she took hold of the blue-haired girl's leg, Cho starting up her thrusters. Though Chise really hoped this would count as it was at this exact moment that she lost her champion form.

Hazuki, all the while, bit into her thumb thus forming her blood whip. But to make sure this would work, she unleashed a flock of bats to distract Mamemon.

Asami lit her fists in flames and flew toward Metalmamemon with both pointed outward. A part of her wanted vengeance on Commandramon, but right now, pitting fire against metal seemed like a much better idea.

Akari, all the while, formed an arrow of light and aimed it toward Commandramon. The dinosaur's eyes were wide open as he was unsure of what to do right now.

"WHY CAN'T I MOVE!?" Mamemon spat as Hazuki exclaimed, "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!" striking the sphere with her whip multiple times, many bruises forming on her face.

CRIMSON CLAW!" Asami exclaimed while ramming her fists hard into Metalmamemon's helmet. And just as predicted, the flames managed to weaken the orange sphere's armour as she took in extreme pain from this.

"WINNING KNUCKLE!" Cho barked as she sent her fist hard into Bigmamemon's midsection, Chise adding to the damage with her shell while shouting, "DIAMOND SHELL!" The large sphere coughed up a bit of blood and fell hard on his back, his eyes spinning.

Akari on the other hand had done nothing as Commandramon's movement returned. However, rather than using this chance to fire his rifle, the dinosaur instead dropped his weapon and held his hands in the air, uttering, "We surrender! Please have mercy on us!"

Akari gave him a light smile and lowered her bow while the arrow vanished. Both Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon were more than relieved by this. However, Mamemon was not the least bit happy with this decision as she gritted her teeth and rose to her feet.

"With all due respect, sir," the sphere said with a sigh, "you are pathetic."

Commandramon's eyes widened as she added, "Seriously, you're supposed to be our general! Why would you, of all Digimon, surrender!? I may not have agreed with all of your morals, but I still had respect for you! You had good ideas! But now I see you're just a big weakling with status, just like my dad!"

Piximon gasped as Yaamon groaned, now feeling embarrassed to have been killed by that rookie. However, Mamemon was not done as she breathed heavily and snapped, "Well, whatever! I'm taking matters into my own hands!"

Unfortunately, things were just about to get much worse. Mamemon's body started to glow as her body started to change. Now she was white with a few black spots representing hair. Pink dots appeared on her cheeks while her eyes became sky blue with yellow bags under them. Her boxing gloves were replaced by regular yellow gloves as she had a fan strapped to her side. She also seemed to get taller as she now wore a blue hakama. To top it all off, she had a black antenna with a yellow ball on top, the ball having a face of its own.

All went silent as Bigmamemon uttered, "Mamemon, you Digivolved," Metalmamemon nodding and adding, "You've become Tonosamamamemon."

"She's so beautiful now," Piximon said to herself, "If only this were under better circumstances. Then I would be so much happier."

"Tono-what?" Cho asked as Chise uttered, "I have to admit, that is quite a mouthful."

"Mouthful or not," the white sphere replied with a smirk, "I'm now a mega level! That means not even you can stand up to me!"

Commandramon let out a sigh and uttered, "Need I remind you they defeated Beelzemon and that angel girl bested Minervamon by herself?" Tonosamamamemon clearly not listening as she whipped out her fan with a smirk.

All five girls were ready as the sphere started waving her fan, energy blades forming and flying at the group. But just as the girls were about to fight back, their eyes widened as Cho and Asami reverted to their rookie levels, Akari and Hazuki becoming champions.

"Oh no, our time is up," Asami uttered as all five girls took in the slashes, cuts forming all over their bodies. If Akari had not healed them earlier, this would have finished them off. But this did not change the fact that they were bleeding badly and feeling weak.

There was one exception, though. Since Tonosamamamemon did not rely on explosions, Chise managed to avoid damage by hiding in her shell. However, fear took over when the white sphere walked over to her with a smirk, lifting her up like a bowling ball.

"My new attacks may not be as cool as my old ones, but they certainly get better results," the sphere stated as Commandramon's hope returned. Sure, this was mainly due to a very fortunate turn of events, but there was no denying that the tides had turned in their favour.

But just as Tonosamamamemon was about to bring harm to Chise, Cho got up, gritted her teeth and barked, "I won't let you hurt my girlfriend!" the blue-haired girl readying her fist only for the sphere to toss cherry blossoms in her face.

This caused her to lose her will to fight as she sulked in front of a tree, groaning, "Who am I kidding? I'm a mediocre fighter. I'll never win the gold belt."

Chise's eyes were wide with terror as Tonosamamamemon asked, "Well, I will admit, I actually respect you two for coming out of the closet like that. But that's about it."

With that, Tonosamamamemon proceeded to roll Chise into a wall just like a bowling ball. She laughed maniacally and exclaimed, "BEING A MEGA LEVEL ROCKS!"

The others tried to help out but soon found themselves overpowered. Seeing this, Chise narrowed her eyelids as she could no longer stand to see this. Her friends were suffering while she was cowering in fear. The whole reason she could become her champion level was because she seemed to have relinquished that. Now was not the time to go back on such a thing.

With that, the girl's body started to glow as everyone stared, Cho asking, "She's able to Digivolve again? How come we can't do that?"

However, the blond did not become her champion level. This was a whole near form. Her hair became silver as her ears were encased in metal and became more monkey-like. Her tube top disappeared and became a silver breastplate with a golden frame. Her arms were replaced by metal ones with spherical shoulders, each with red gems in the middle. Her arms were a normal width at the top but widened as they went along, her new mechanical hands being tiny with claws instead of fingers. Her speedo vanished and was replaced by a dress made from the same material as her breastplate with the same colour and frame, though this also had a golden sun with the yin yang symbol in the middle of it. Finally, her shoes were replaced by metal slippers.

Everyone stared silently until Cho grinned and exclaimed, "Yeah! You rock, Chise!" Tonosamamamemon shrugging her shoulders and saying, "So you're an ultimate now. That probably would have made a difference earlier when everyone else was ultimate."

Chise ignored the sphere's words and shouted, "JUSTICE BEAMS!" firing two beams from her eyes. Tonosamamamemon's eyes widened as both beams hit her shoulders, the sphere crying out in pain.

"KACHINA BOMBS!" Chise exclaimed as her sun emblem opened up and unleashed a pair of flying clay discs. Each one ran into Tonosamamamemon's midsection and created tiny explosions.

However, the others had a feeling this would not be enough to finish the job. As such, all four rushed at her, Asami forming a beam in place of her mouth.

"BEAK PECKER!" the rich girl shouted while pecking the girl rapidly, Hazuki sending a roundhouse kick into the sphere's forehead. Akari added to the damage with a scratch to her cheek while exclaiming, "LIGHTNING PAW!" as Cho, whose fighting spirit had return, sent a hard punch into the same spot Hazuki had kicked.

With that, Tonosamamamemon looked like she was down for the count. However, she ignored the pain and rose back to her feet, fury in her expression as she spat, "NO! I was having fun before, but now this is irritating! I'm not going to-"

However, her eyes widened as a burst of red energy hit her in the back. Tonosamamamemon fell flat on her face as Metalmamemon had her gun arm pointed at her, everyone staring in stunned silence. Commandramon gulped as the orange sphere held her metal claws at the side of his head, her older sister barely mustering up enough strength to utter, "Why?"

"I can't take this anymore!" Metalmamemon snapped, "I just can't! I never wanted to do this in the first place! The only reason I went along with this plan was because you convinced me that it was the right thing to do!"

Everyone stared at her while Princemamemon had regained enough consciousness to hear this, the younger sister adding, "You were so focused on joining the virus' army that neither Bigmamemon or I had the guts to speak up against you! We were willing to go through with this just to keep you happy, but no more! I just want to be with my family again! You're supposed to the heir to the throne!"

Tonosamamamemon stared blankly before turning to Bigmamemon who nodded and sighed, "Our sister was afraid to say anything, but I was just willing to go along with this if it made you happy. But I don't think I can support this any longer. I'd rather be sent to prison for a few months than spend my whole life working for a virus."

Piximon let down light tears as she wished her husband was awake to hear this. Commandramon, all the while, was terrified out of his mind.

Akari gave Tonosamamamemon and her siblings a gentle smile and said, "I'm happy you two at least came to your senses. I know you think it's impossible, but I'm sure if we work together, we can get rid of this virus and save both the Digital World and the human world."

"That's right," Yaamon added, "I used to believe the same way you did. Believe it or not, I actually served him in a past life under the name Beelzemon."

The spheres and dinosaur stared in shock as did Piximon. Now Commandramon was feeling even more nervous as he fibbed, "Um, for the record, I was ordered to kill you. That wasn't a conscious choice."

Yaamon rolled his eyes and sighed, "Look, even if I had the strength, I'm not going to seek vengeance on you. Akari has taught me how pointless that is," the redhead smiling bright as Cho sighed, "Yeah, she has the heart of a saint, this one."

"Even so, she's right," Hazuki said, "I used to fight for myself, trying to end the lives of anyone I didn't like. I abused my new powers, and as it just so happens, the virus himself gave me those powers so I would do just that. But Akari showed me that this wasn't the answer, and now I'm happier than I've ever been."

"It's not too late to change your minds," Akari stated, "Instead of fighting against us, maybe you can support us. We might not be able to promise success, but it's better than doing nothing."

Tonosamamamemon let down light tears and fell to her hands and knees. She could not believe she had been so blind. And to make matters worse, she had forced her siblings into this as well. Right now, she was not sure if she deserved to live, let alone take her father's place on the throne someday.

Her siblings walked to her and rested their hands on her shoulder as Commandramon took a deep breath and looked down. He could not believe it. Even a reincarnated Beelzemon was willing to let him live despite what he had done. How could he oppose such nice people?

Tonosamamamemon smiled at her sister and brother before giving them a hug. Sure, it was difficult giving two at a time considering how large Bigmamemon was, but she worked with what she had. And just as she had done that, Piximon flew over and gave her daughter a hug as well.

"You look so beautiful, M- I mean Tonosamamamemon," the queen stated as the white sphere sighed, "You know, that name sounds kinda dumb and it's way too long. Just call me Tono from now on."

"Another Digimon not named after her species!" Hazuki exclaimed, "Seriously, why is no one else doing this? It makes perfect sense!" crickets chirping as she groaned, "I can't be the only one taking issue with this."

However, all went silent when Commandramon slowly walked toward the girls with his hands in the air again. The dinosaur fell to his knees and bowed to the them before shouting, "I realize that I might have been wrong all this time! Can you ever forgive me!?"

The girls stared for a few seconds as Akari smiled and knelt down before him. She then patted him on the shoulder and said, "You were just doing what you thought was right. I'm just happy you learned your lesson."

The dinosaur let down a light tear as he rubbed his eye and sniffed, "You're too kind!" Cho and Hazuki snickering at the sight of this.

The dinosaur then let out a sigh and said, "Look, I'm not sure if I can ever truly make up for all I've done, especially forcing Beelzemon to have to grow up again, but if there's anything I can do..."

"Join us," Akari said as the others stared wide-eyed. However, after a few seconds, Cho, Chise, Hazuki and Asami realized this might just be the best option as they nodded. Yaamon was hesitant but also agreed in the end.

Commandramon was now letting down waterworks as he got up and gave an army salute, exclaiming through tears, "I promise I will do my best to serve you and your companions! I won't let you down like I let down my old master, ma'am!"

Akari giggled and replied, "You don't need to be so formal, nor do you need to see me as your new leader. Just think of us as friends," the dinosaur's eyes sparkling in response to this.

However, Yaamon's eyes widened as he spat, "LOOK, A CHRYSALIMON!" Commandramon turning to see a chrysalis behind him. But just as it was about to take off, Cho and Chise both pinned it to the ground and turned it into data. Thus the virus now had no way of knowing about Commandramon's betrayal.

And with all said and done, things had finally settled down. Once Princemamemon recovered from the damage dealt to him earlier, all had been explained. The kids apologized dearly to which the king ultimately forgave them.

Even so, the siblings had not gotten off too easily as, despite being members of the royal family, they were to help clean up Sphere Town as punishment for dealing so much damage to it. The girls had offered to help, but after having saved the kingdom, Princemamemon only saw it fit that they rest for the remainder of the day. After all, they would need full strength for the battles ahead.

While clean-up was going on, the girls along with Commandramon and Yaamon were seated as the dinosaur had prepared a battle strategy. As he had been to the virus' home on several occasions, he was the perfect pick for this.

"Alright, I got good news and bad news," Commandramon stated, "The good news is that I can actually get you to this location first thing in the morning."

"Really?" Chise squeaked as Akari smiled bright and stated, "That sounds wonderful."

"But the guards there are super tough, right?" Yaamon asked, "That's the bad news, isn't it?"

"Actually, it's worse than that," the dinosaur replied, "As of late, the virus has been racking up on security and forces. If we were to come to the entrance, we'd be attacked instantly. And even worse, that's literally the only place my teleportation device can take me."

The dinosaur showed them the controller he had used to escape from Tokyo before, Yaamon sighing, "So in other words, you're telling us we shouldn't use it at all."

"That's right," Commandramon replied, "Thanks to Cho and Chise, he won't know that I technically failed my mission, so the odds of him sending anyone who isn't already infected is low. And that's a good thing, too, because I just know he'd likely send Minervamon to attack you guys. You probably know how dangerous she can be, right, Akari?"

The others looked at the redhead who nodded, trying her best to remain calm. They remembered her telling them how that was the very Digimon who had killed Grapleomon.

Suddenly, Princemamemon entered the area and said, "You know, I have some good news of my own."

With that, he led the girls to a room with a fancy-looking vehicle. It was bright red with a golden rim around it and diamond-encrusted wheels. Asami was about to question this before remembering this world was still technically a computer game, meaning not every law of reality applied here. So the odds of a royal family having a motor vehicle was not too farfetched.

"I figure it'll help you on your way," the king explained as Commandramon and Yaamon both stared awkwardly, Cho noticing this and asking, "What's wrong? We can get there faster, now."

"And we'll stick out like a sore thumb," Yaamon remarked as Commandramon added, "Not to sound ungrateful, your majesty, but this is too bright and shiny. We'll be even easier to spot."

"Oh, that's a good point," Cho uttered as Chise sighed, "We were better off taking the slow and steady approach."

Princemamemon nodded and replied, "Well, that would be bad, but it's all we have. Sorry I wasn't much help."

"Hold on," Yaamon replied, "I didn't say we shouldn't take it," the girls and Commandramon both confused by these words as the kid added, "Something you girls aren't aware of is that in the Digital World, painting something takes a matter of minutes. It really shouldn't take long for them to give this more military-like colours."

"Military, you say," Commandramon replied while rubbing his chin, "I like the sound of that."

Princemamemon looked at the vehicle and trembled at the very thought, but he knew how much the girls would need this. As such, he agreed to have the royal painters change the colour scheme to one that did not stand out so much. After all, results were more important than appearances right now.

And with that, everything was ready. The girls were set for whatever challenges the future would bring and soon enough, they just knew the virus would finally be dealt with.


	35. Chapter 35

With the problem in Sphere Town resolved, it was time for the girls, Yaamon and Commandramon to get some sleep. They were sure to have another long day ahead of them tomorrow and they needed as much rest as they could get.

"Did you ever think something like this would happen to us?" Cho asked while lying in bed, "One day we're living normal, everyday lives and then we're heroes."

"Don't forget we're also in a world formed from computer data," Akari added, Chise uttering, "Yeah, it's just as scary as I figured living in a video game would be."

Cho chuckled and gave her a sweet smile as the blond added, "But, you know, I think this whole experience has also been a good thing. If it hadn't been for all of this, we might never have met each-other. I never would have discovered my feelings nor would I have ever gotten over my fear of the outside."

"Yeah, and I would have spent at least a chunk of my life with an extreme hatred toward the world," Hazuki replied, "As much danger as this experience has put us in, it's helped us in many ways."

"Oh yes," Asami replied, "Who would have ever guessed middle-class citizens could be so easy to get along with? Those people I spend time with at school aren't real friends. They're merely acquaintances. You are my true friends."

"Yeah, the circumstances are unfortunate, but the payoff was kind of worth it," Akari said with a big smile as the girls yawned and fell asleep.

During this time, Yaamon and Commandramon were sleeping in another guest room. They had agreed to do so mainly because they figured the girls would rather not have the male group members watch them change. Needless to say, it was rather awkward as both were silent.

However, Commandramon broke up the silence by letting out a sigh and saying, "Look, Yaamon, I know it won't change much, but I'm really sorry for killing you. I know it was to perform my duty, but that's not a good excuse. If you want to hit me, go ahead."

Yaamon let out a sigh and replied, "I already told you, I'm not gonna do that," a smile forming as he added, "Besides, it might be good to have you on our team. After all, you've already come up with two very good ideas. And if Akari wants you on the team, I'm perfectly okay with it."

The dinosaur took a deep breath and replied, "You know, back when you were Beelzemon, I was scared of you. I never knew you could be such a nice guy," Yaamon replying, "Well, a special girl taught me that, just like she taught you the error of your ways."

With that, Commandramon sat up in his bed and gave an army salute to Yaamon, saying, "If you Digivolve to your rookie level, I would love to fight alongside you," the child nodding and stating, "That would be awesome."

With that, the two headed off to sleep. They needed their rest just as much as the girls. But on the upside, at least none of the virus' top soldiers would seek them out tomorrow.

Or so they thought. Currently, a major problem had emerged, and it was something both Yaamon and Commandramon should have seen coming. At this moment, the virus was starting to wonder why he and the Mamemon siblings had not returned.

'If they had the ability to succeed, they would have done so by now,' he thought, 'But at the same time, I don't think they're dead. If they were-'

However, his train of thought ended when it hit him. Commandramon and his soldiers must have become prisoners of the girls. He could just imagine them right now being held in captivity. The virus' eyes widened at the thought of it. After all, he knew nothing about these girls other than the fact that they had just about convinced Beelzemon to join them. He did not even think that such a thing would go against their morals.

With that in mind, the virus snapped his fingers as a chrysalis entered, the spider saying, "Chrysalimon, I want you to find Minervamon for me first thing in the morning. I have a job for her."

He would have called her right now, but he knew even she would need rest if she was to perform at her absolute best. Either way, the girls could very well be in danger soon enough.

During this time, back in Tokyo, Yumi looked out the window with small bags under her eyes as Kenta walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. The man smiled and said, "I'm sure she's fine out there," his wife taking a deep breath and replying, "I'm sure she is. I'm just worried. She and her friends have been away for almost four days."

"Yeah, that's true," Kenta replied, "I often think about Akari too. But she's not a baby. I'm sure she can handle this."

With that, both headed off to bed. As it just so happened, Yumi had been having a bit of trouble sleeping since Akari left. If the redhead knew of this, she would have been mortified. After all, she did not wish for her parents to be so negatively effected by this.

And of course they were not the only ones. Currently, Kenichi was in the middle of late-night training exercises while Sakura yawned and uttered, "What are you doing? It's time for bed, honey."

"I'm training just in case that angel decides to bring me to the Digital World," the man replied with a smirk, "I think I'm hero material, don't you?"

Sakura took a deep breath and replied, "Well, I can't argue with that. At least that way, I'd know our little girl was safe," before sighing, "Or you'd just get in the way."

"I worry about her too," Kenichi replied before stopping his training, "But I really have faith in her. Cho's the toughest girl I know."

"Yeah," Sakura replied with a smirk, "She's even tougher than me, and I'm tougher than you."

"Oh, are you, now?" Kenichi remarked as the woman took hold of his wrist and twisted it. The man winced in pain and fell to his knees before slapping his hand against the floor.

The adults then laughed before heading off to bed. They were certain Cho was okay.

All the while, Yae was looking at a photo of Chise and smiling softly. She let out a sigh and said, "Chise has grown up so much. Oh, Genma, if only you could see her now."

Hazuki's parents were about to head off to bed when her father peered into her room and sighed. Sure, he and his wife had been fully supportive, but seeing the goth's room empty felt strange, especially since she had spent so much of her life locked away in it.

Anna and Akihiko, however, were the most worried of all the parents. Like Yumi, both had lost a lot of sleep during this time and relied on the strongest of coffee to get through each day. Even so, they reminded themselves that Asami had the power to deal with the Digimon and that they should have nothing to worry about.

With all said and done, day soon came as the girls awoke to a fancy breakfast courtesy of the Mamemon family. The siblings still had quite a bit of clean-up work to do, but for the time being, but it would not have been easy without breakfast.

Akari, Cho and Chise beamed at the food before them as Asami shrugged and said, "I've had better, but this is nice," Hazuki shaking her head and sighing, "Is there any luxury you don't have?"

Before they could eat, though, Princemamemon held up a goblet and exclaimed, "I would like to propose a toast to these brave heroes who will save our world from the evil virus!" the siblings and Piximon nodding before joining in.

Akari and Chise blushed bright while Cho had a proud smirk on her face. It felt good being hailed as a hero.

"But in all seriousness," the king continued, "you girls have already done a great deed for us. You've helped reunite our family. We are eternally grateful," the others applauding the girls.

With that, everyone started eating except for, of course, Hazuki. Piximon looked at her with concern and asked, "Are you not going to eat?"

"You really should," Tono replied, "This is some really good stuff here. Can't believe I almost sacrificed this," the white sphere letting out a sigh while Metalmamemon patted her on the back.

"It's nothing against the food," Hazuki replied, "See, I can't eat this sort of thing. I'm half-vampire, so I can only drink blood."

The royal family stared in shock as Tono uttered, "That is so cool," Metalmamemon feeling a twinge of fear when Bigmamemon patted her on the shoulder and said, "There's nothing to worry about."

Once breakfast was finished, the girls were ready to head off. Commandramon had offered to drive the vehicle as he had a bit of experience with this sort of thing. Yaamon sat on Akari's lap as the redhead was more than happy with this arrangement, Cho and Chise sitting next to each-other in the back seat. Hazuki and Asami sat in the middle.

"I am used to sitting at the front," Asami sighed, "but I guess I'll be okay with this for the time being."

Hazuki smiled lightly and patted her friend on the shoulder before saying, "Good job. You're growing up," her stomach growling as Asami gulped, knowing what needed to be done.

With that, the girl pulled down on the side of her collar and sighed, "Alright, but try to be gentle this time," Hazuki replying, "I can't make it hurt less. Sorry."

The rich girl shrugged and allowed the goth to bite her neck, getting her fill of blood for the day. Chise winced at the sight of this while Cho placed a hand on the blond's shoulder, both sharing a brief kiss.

And so the group was off while Princemamemon and the rest of his family waved goodbye. And once the vehicle was out of sight, the king turned to his kids and said, "Kids, I want you to take a break from cleaning for a while. There's actually a much bigger job I had in mind."

All the while, Minervamon stood before the virus in his chambers and asked with an excited look, "So, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to chop someone's head off? Or maybe you want a decapitation!"

"You know there's not much of a difference between those two, right?" the virus asked as the woman blinked and replied, "So that's why I enjoy both equally."

The spider let out a sigh and said, "Look, the Mamemon siblings and Commandramon have not returned nor did the Chrysalimon I sent to check up on their progress. It leads me to believe something really bad has happened to them."

"You don't think they were killed, do you!?" Minervamon asked with a gasp, then biting her lip she let down light tears and sniffed, "Not my darling Commandramon! I know he was just a rookie, but he was a rookie with strength and heart!"

"Honestly, I didn't know you cared so much about him," the virus replied as the woman sighed, "Yes. Of all the allies, he's the only one who ever gives me a special greeting. It always makes me so happy. And the way he gives me an army salute... nobody else ever does that!"

The virus stared silently as he did not have the heart to tell her that Commandramon greeted everyone like that. Either way, her feelings toward the dinosaur could work to the spider's advantage.

"I'm sure he's not dead," the virus replied, "but if that's the case, there's a chance those girls captured him and are probably forcing him to help them on their journey."

"Those monsters!" Minervamon growled with fury in her expression, the virus asking, "Can I count on you to deal with them? Whatever you choose to do with Commandramon is up to you, of course."

Minervamon nodded with a serious look and replied, "I'll not only take them down. I'll bring you their heads on a silver platter," the woman taking off while the virus smiled wickedly. This had turned out even better than he figured it would.

Minervamon sprinted onward as she knew there was only one path the girls could take that was safer than all the rest. She had no doubt in her mind they were using Commandramon to lead them that way and the very thought sickened her as her teeth were gritted the whole time.

'Don't worry my sweet Commandramon,' the woman thought, 'I'll save you from those horrible witches!'

An open-mouth smile formed on her face while she continued to think, 'And when I do, I won't hold back any longer! I'll tell you exactly how I feel then we can dance through fields of skulls and sing about our latest victory.'

She then imagined herself in a field just like that, though she had her helmet off so the dinosaur could see her blue eyes underneath. After a bit of dancing, the woman and dinosaur both puckered up their lips. But just as they were about to share a compassionate kiss, Commandramon's eyes widened as Minervamon turned.

The woman had come back to her senses too late to avoid taking a tree branch to the face, falling on her back. She then gritted her teeth and whipped out her sword before slicing it in half. Once that was taken care of, she took a deep breath and carried on with her mission.

It seemed as if changing the car's colours had a decent effect as none of the infected Digimon seemed to be paying attention to it. Yaamon watched them pass by and said, "I gotta hand it to you, Commandramon. This was a really good idea."

"Honestly, it's working better than I thought it would," the dinosaur replied while Akari gave him a big smile and said, "Thank you so much."

"Much appreciated, but I can't take all the credit," Commandramon replied, "After all, I didn't make the vehicle. I just suggested one little detail."

"You're also the only one of us who knows how to drive it," Cho stated, "That's definitely something."

The dinosaur took a deep breath and tried to keep a straight face. There was nothing he liked more than doing a good job and being recognized for it. But right now, he needed to focus on the task at hand.

However, he came to a screeching halt when he noticed a certain someone not too far from the vehicle. Cho's eyes widened as she asked, "Dude, why did you stop?"

Asami's eyes widened as she squeaked in panic, and she had all the reason to. Minervamon had found them and was approaching them at a rapid pace with her teeth gritted. The redhead remembered just how powerful and psychotic the woman was.

"Who's that?" Hazuki asked as Commandramon replied, "Trouble."

Yaamon simply blinked and uttered, "That's an understatement," as Minervamon eventually spotted the vehicle. However, since she had no idea the girls would be riding in it, she had to squint her eyes a bit to notice Commandramon in the front seat with Akari next to him.

Her eyes widened as she grunted, "He was right! My precious Commandramon is being held hostage!" before whipping out her sword and performing a rolling slash. This caused the ground to split open as a big crack formed under the vehicle and trapped it in place.

"Oh no, this is bad," Asami uttered as Commandramon held out his hand and said, "Hold it, girls. I just got me an idea. Stay in the car."

With that, Commandramon stepped out while the girls watched in silence, Minervamon stopping in front of him and taking a few deep breaths. She immediately race between him and the car and held her sword at it with fury.

"With all due respect, what are you doing, ma'am?" Commandramon asked as the woman replied, "I'm saving you. The virus figured you were captured and I see he was right."

"Oh no, that's not the case at all," Commandramon replied, "Actually, the girls and their Digimon are my prisoners. I captured them and I'm taking them to the virus. Figured it might be a better idea to infect them than kill them, Minervamon, ma'am."

The dinosaur then gave an army salute as Cho said, "You know, I'm amazed it took this long for any of us to come up with that," the other girls hushing her while Minervamon blinked and looked at the vehicle then back at Commandramon.

"What's really going on?" she asked as the dinosaur gave her a confused look, the woman adding, "If this is true, where did you get that vehicle?"

"I stole it from the king of Sphere Town," Commandramon replied as Minervamon nodded and asked, "Well, then, where are the Mamemon siblings? They were with you, right? They're your top soldiers."

"They put up a good fight," Commandramon replied, "but unfortunately, they died in the line of combat," Minervamon biting her lower lip and sighing, "Look, I want to believe you, but the virus confirmed that none of you died during that battle."

"Wait, what?" Hazuki whispered, "How would he even know that?" pointing at Cho and Chise before adding, "You two killed their spy camera, right?"

It seemed even Commandramon was not sure of this, but he knew questioning this would only make things more difficult. However, it seemed he at least would be off the hook as Minervamon gritted her teeth and spat, "I knew it! Those girls forced you to make up this lie, didn't they!?"

"No, it's true, ma'am!" Commandramon protested only for the woman to pick him up by his shoulders and carry him away from the area. She then gave him a sweet smile and said, "Don't worry, I'll save you."

With that, the woman lifted up her blade as the girls and Yaamon quickly fled from the vehicle, and just in time, too. Minervamon had managed to slice the vehicle's roof off. Had the girls been in it even a second longer, their heads would have joined it.

Commandramon's eyes were wide with horror as he had no idea what to do. Even if he confessed to his betrayal, the girls would still be killed and he would be punished. Right now, it seemed the best option was to stay on the sidelines and pray that the girls could win this fight.

Minervamon glared at Akari and stated, "So you got all your allies together this time. That won't help you. I'm not letting my guard down like last time."

"Okay, how strong is this psycho?" Cho asked as Akari whimpered, "She resisted my ultimate form's paralysis and the celestial arrow."

"Well, you got us helping you this time," Hazuki replied with a supportive smile, Asami nodding and saying, "Yes, you at least came close to beating her last time, right? With us by your side, this will be easy."

Minervamon gritted her teeth and growled, "Not if I prevent you from Digivolving," the girls whipping out their diamonds. And just as they were about to transform, the woman caused another quake with her sword as the diamonds flew into the air.

However, before the woman could destroy them, they immediately vanished and reappeared in each girl's pocket. Chise breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I almost forgot about that."

With that, the girls became their hero forms as Commandramon trembled in fear. However, he had a look of shock when Akari turned to him and turned her head to the right, signalling the dinosaur to run. However, as much as he wanted to, these girls were his new allies. He could not simply abandon them. It was against his code.

Yaamon wished he was still Beelzemon. At least then he could not only help the girls but even march over to Commandramon and convince him to flee from the area. Even so, the second detail hardly made a difference as Minervamon truly believed she was doing this for the dinosaur's sake.

"FEATHER STRIKE!" Asami exclaimed as she hurled her feather toward Minervamon. However, the woman easily sliced it in half before asking, "Is that it?"

Cho rolled toward her, setting up for her rolling upper. But just as the woman was about to strike, the blue-haired girl shifted to crawling before performing a somersault and sending her feet into Minervamon's chin.

However, the woman ignored the pain as she took hold of Cho's ankles and smirked, saying, "I'll admit, that was pretty clever. Too bad you don't have to strength to make it worth it."

Chise wasted no time as she tucked into her shell and rolled into Minervamon's shin, shouting, "DIAMOND SHELL!" This provided a bit of a distraction as Asami exclaimed, "BEAK PECKER!" a beak forming on her face as she rammed it hard into Minervamon's forehead.

Akari added to the damage as she sped past the woman with her claws out and exclaimed, "LIGHTNING PAW!" scratching her on the side. Hazuki added to the pain with her own claws to the other side while barking, "DEATH CLAW!"

Unfortunately, while the scratches did cause Minervamon to bleed, it also angered her to a considerable degree. As if letting rookies and champions strike her was not bad enough, she had actually taken quite a bit of damage from them. It filled her with so much fury that she did not even care about the pain.

With that in mind, Minervamon held out her sword and swung her sword horizontally. This formed a twister around her that caught all five girls, covering them in small cuts and sending them flying into separate trees. Chise had even hidden in her shell for this and still succumbed to major cuts.

"You weren't kidding," Cho grunted as she tried to push herself up, Asami adding, "Yes, this Minervamon is a nightmare. She has barely done and thing and yet look at us."

Yaamon was now terrified. If only he was still Beelzemon right now. With that in mind, he closed his eyes and figured that maybe if he wished like the girls did, he would be able to Digivolve. But since he did not have the power of the diamonds, he did not require the same conditions they did. As such, he found himself unable to do so.

With that said, though, the girls were not going to let this get them down. Akari had dealt with this power before and since she and Hazuki had the power of champion Digimon helping them out, they were able to withstand more pain. As such, they slowly rose to their feet while the other three knew what they had to do.

Cho, Chise and Asami closed their eyes as their bodies glowed. With that, the girls took on their champion levels as Minervamon's eye twitched. Normally the added challenge would be fun for her, but seeing as she was doing this to save Commandramon's life, she had really hoped that tornado would finish them for good.

Even so, she would not let this get her down as she readied herself. Commandramon continued to tremble as he thought, 'I'm sure they can handle this now. I mean, they're all champions and there's five of them.

"DASH DOUBLE CLAW!" Cho shouted while throwing her arms downward and forming energy slashes in an X formation that flew toward the woman. However, the simply leapt over it as Chise turned her back to Cho and pointed at her tail.

The blue-haired girl nodded and took the blond by said spot and flung her toward Minervamon, Chise spreading out her arms and legs while shouting, "MEGATON PRESS!"

However, while the collision did manage to knock Minervamon to the ground, Chise's eyes were wide open as the woman had used her shield to protect herself from taking in the full force of the attack. And of course, since her shield had a spike on it, this caused the blond's belly to bleed.

However, Hazuki quickly flew over and grabbed Chise by her shoulders, prying her out of the spike and asking, "You okay?" the blond nodding before swinging her tail into Minervamon's chin.

"COME ON, THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT!" the woman snapped as she slowly pushed herself up only to take in Asami's ring-like beams to the face, the rich girl exclaiming, "BLAST RINGS!"

However, Minervamon once again ignored the pain as she rose to her feet, Akari holding her ground as she was unsure of whether or not to try attacking yet. The woman gritted her teeth and spat, "Okay, you've had your fun, but there's no way you can beat me! You're just champions! I'm a mega!"

With that, the woman once again formed the tornado. The girls saw this coming as they dodged it, but Minervamon had expected that. As such, once they did avoid it, the woman charged at each girl and struck them one-by-one with her sword. The only one she had not hit was Akari, but she was certainly next.

The other four lay on their backs writhing in pain as Minervamon charged at Akari and exclaimed, "I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!"

However, Commandramon could take no more. There was no way he would allow his new allies, or rather his new friends, to die. With that, rushed in front of Minervamon as his body started to glow.

Akari's eyes widened as the dinosaur's army outfit was replaced by bluish-black commando armour. His snout was more pointy and white and he had a battle helmet with a visor in front of his eyes, one of the visor's eyes being sky-blue and the other red. He had big wrist guards on grey armour covering the backs of his fingers. On her knees were metal pads with red rims. He now wore metal shoes with two big claws stuck together on the end of each and two blades sticking out of the backs of his shoulders along with one attached to the tip of his tail. Finally, he had a small dagger strapped to his side, and he instinctively whipped it out in an attempt to block Minervamon's attack.

However, the sword was way too big as the dinosaur's eyes widened, the knife flying out of his hand. Luckily, Minervamon realized she was about to cut him open in time to stop herself, the woman breathing heavily and asking, "What are you doing?"

"Commandramon, you Digivolved," Akari uttered as the dinosaur looked at his hands and said, "So I did. I guess you can call me Sealsdramon from now on."

Minervamon backed up with a look of disbelief and asked, "Why are you defending her? She and her allies captured you."

"No, they didn't," Sealsdramon replied with a sigh, the girls all staring in shock as Yaamon asked, "Are you sure you want to be saying this?"

"Yes," the dinosaur stated, "I'm a soldier. As such, I shouldn't be cowering in fear. I'm sorry, Minervamon, but I've joined up with these girls."

The woman gasped as Sealsdramon added, "I know for the fact that these five have what it takes to defeat the virus. We don't have to serve him anymore! If we try hard enough, we can stop him from infecting our world! Besides, are we really free if we're still taking orders from him!?"

The others girls stared in stunned silence. They could tell that this took of lot of guts for the dinosaur to say, especially since someone like Minervamon could very easily kill him for this.

"Look, I know this makes me a traitor," Sealsdramon said as he held out his arms, "If you're still loyal to the virus, go ahead and kill me," Akari squeaking, "No!" only for the dinosaur to shake his head.

However, as he closed his eyes and expected the worst, Minervamon did not go through with that. Instead, she dropped her sword and shield and slowly turned away from Sealsdramon. With that, she ran far off into the distance, no one even knowing how to respond to this. Whatever the case was, at least they were safe now.


	36. Chapter 36

With Minervamon no longer a threat, the girls had the perfect opportunity to make their escape. Unfortunately, Cho, Chise, Hazuki and Asami were all bleeding badly and their mode of transportation was stuck in the ground.

Seeing this, Sealsdramon took a deep breath and said, "Girls, you should all rest. I know of a decent hiding place from infected Digimon."

"But we shouldn't be lying around," Cho uttered as the dinosaur remarked, "No, you shouldn't be moving. Don't worry, I'll do what I can to get this vehicle out of the ground. Luckily, that crack isn't too deep, so I should be able to lift it out within the hour. You all need to be in tip-top shape when we get to the town."

"Is it really that bad?" Hazuki asked as Yaamon replied, "Oh yeah. Even with their top fighters gone, they're still a major threat. The virus has tons of ultimate level Digimon there. I know you girls can stand up to a few, but try a big army."

Chise trembled as Cho patted her on the shoulder with a light smile, Asami sighing, "It might seem odd to hear me complain about this, but I feel like every time we make progress, we have to stop and rest somewhere. And we always get attacked in said rest spots."

Akari nodded and sighed, "Remember, we all knew the Digital World would be dangerous. Honestly, it hasn't been as bad as I was expecting," a big smile forming on her face.

With that, Sealsdramon led the girls to a nearby cave. Luckily, no Digimon had ever been seen there. Even the infected Digimon did not seem to care about it, so they would never look there. Needless to say, this was the perfect resting place.

Yaamon took a deep breath and said, "You really are a good soldier, Sealsdramon," the dinosaur turning to the child and asking, "What was that?"

"You knew Minervamon had the power to kill you and yet you still stood up to her to save Akari," Yaamon stated, "I wish I could bring myself to do that, but as I am now, I'm useless and it's so annoying."

"Well, it is a soldier's duty to fight to the bitter end," Sealsdramon replied, "I was merely doing what I had to," Yaamon rolling his eyes but saying nothing else. He knew there was more to it than that, but clearly this answer suited the dinosaur better.

During this time, Minervamon was far from the area hugging her knees. She did not even bother returning to the virus' home. After what Sealsdramon had done and what he had told he, she was confused and for the first time in ages, she was scared. She had no idea how to take this.

'If it had been any other ally,' she thought, 'I wouldn't even so much as think about it, but why did it have to be him?'

She then took a deep breath and looked on into the distance. And after a few seconds, the woman rose to her feet with a serious look on her face. She then proceeded to remove her helmet and drop it onto the ground next to her. And with that, she headed onward into the distance, but where to was anyone's guess.

The girls were still resting the cave after thirty minutes as Sealsdramon had put bandages over the wounds of all except Akari, the redhead being the only one of the five who did not need it. Chise looked at Cho with concern and asked, "Are you okay? Your wound looked worse than mine."

"You know me," the blue-haired girl replied with a grin, "I can tough it out. Honestly, I was more worried about you," the blond replying, "Well, I wasn't too scared with you there to help me through it."

Hazuki rolled her eyes as Asami held her wrist in front of her and said, "Here," the goth asking, "What are you doing?"

"Look," the silver-haired girl replied, "You clearly lost quite a bit of blood during that battle and I do not wish for you to go hungry as a result. So go ahead and take some."

Hazuki chuckled and replied, "I'm fine. It was only a little bit, but thanks anyway. You're a real pal."

Akari was so happy to be everyone okay, but her smile was actually to hide her concern. After hearing that the virus' territory was even worse than a fight with Minervamon, she could not help but feel scared. She knew that when she left, she could not promise a safe return. And after all her talk about how she and her friends could truly pull this off, she was actually uncertain now.

After all, one mega had come very close to killing them even when they were all working together, and fighting three ultimates and a rookie had proven challenging for them. One could only imagine how much tougher an entire army of ultimate level Digimon could be.

Yaamon bounced into the cave and noticed the girls seemed to be recovering just fine. However, despite Akari having her usual smile on, he could tell something was off. As such, he leapt over to her with a supportive smile of his own as Akari looked down at him.

"Hey, Yaamon," she said, "How's Sealsdramon doing?" the child replying, "He's just about got it."

With that, Yaamon took a deep breath and added, "I also wanna say something. Don't let the challenges ahead discourage you. When you and your friends work together, you're more amazing than any mega level Digimon I've ever met. I'm sure you can pull this off."

"Thanks, Yaamon," Akari replied, her fear starting to leave her. It was truly amazing. Even she of all people needed a pep talk to get her going, and if Akari had not been taught to be so positive all her life, this probably would not have worked so easily.

However, the moment ended when Sealsdramon poked his head into the cave and gave an army salute, exclaiming, "The vehicle has been recovered! We're good to go!"

The girls all looked at one-another and nodded. With that, they were more than ready for this as all five were feeling a mix of excitement and fear. Even Chise was actually anticipating this. After all, this was going to be the big battle to decide everything, the one that would likely save the world. They were prepared to face the only Digimon who was truly evil.

During this time, the virus was in his chambers watching footage that a chrysalis had taken from the previous fight. What he saw angered him greatly. Not only had Minervamon run away from a battle, but his own general had turned on him. He could not understand this. He may not have known much about his subjects, but he could tell that Sealsdramon enjoyed working for him when he was still Commandramon.

Then he remembered the very reason he was told of why Beelzemon had even considered joining them in the first place. It was Akari and her friendly nature.

"That redhead is more dangerous than I could have ever imagined," the virus said with a scowl, "She's convinced my top soldiers to rebel against me."

He then recognized their location and realized just how close they were. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and stated, "Alright, come here and fight me. Try your pacifism on me. See where that gets you."

The girls were once again headed forward with Sealsdramon at the wheel. Now nothing was going to stop them. They knew this was going to be tough but they were not going to back down no matter what.

The dinosaur looked on ahead. Thanks to his new visor, he could see better than ever before, and soon enough he could see a ruined town just a couple of miles from their location. With that, he stated, "We're almost there, but I'd recommend parking the car outside of town. If we're careful, we might be able to avoid detection from the virus' soldiers."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Yaamon replied, "The place is probably crawling. Our best stealth tactics might not help all that much."

Asami took a deep breath and replied, "Well, we have gone too far to back down now. Besides, we are heroes. Risking our lives to save the innocent is what we do."

Hazuki gave the rich girl a smirk and replied, "Just think, before all of this, you would have never said that," the silver-haired girl sighing, "I know."

"Don't be like that," Hazuki replied with a cute grin, "That's a good thing. It means you're growing up."

"I guess I am," Asami replied with a smile, "And just imagine how my parents will react when I come home fine after saving the world! No more banking for me! I will grow up to be a famous wilderness explorer! I will go from place to place, climb from tree to tree, and with my best man by my side, I will sing, sing, sing!"

"Okay, now you're getting carried away," Hazuki uttered as Asami chuckled nervously, Cho uttering, "I never pegged you as a Monty Python fan."

"Money who?" Asami asked as Cho shook her head, Chise sighing with a look of concern on her face. However, that concern changed to confidence as she said, "You know, I was scared of this whole mission this morning, but now, I'm not scared anymore. I just know we can do this."

"That's the spirit!" Cho exclaimed before adding, "And I must say, you look even cuter when you're serious."

Chise blushed brightly as the blue-haired girl kissed her cheek, Akari taking a deep breath. Unlike the others, she was not quite as positive and the girls knew why.

"You're not sure if you can kill him, are you?" Cho asked as the redhead sighed, "It's just, every other Digimon we've killed has been restored as an egg. I feel like the virus is different, like if we kill him, he'll be gone forever. I don't want to end anyone's life, no matter how horrible they are."

Yaamon looked concerned now. On one hand, he wanted to tell her to relinquish those thoughts, but it was that very mindset that led him to admire her so much. Even Sealsdramon was finding it difficult to tell her this was how it had to be. Viruses were made to destroy. There was no reasoning with one.

However, it seemed Cho knew what to say as she patted Akari on the shoulder and said, "Look, the fact that you're even willing to fight this battle is amazing. Don't worry, you don't have to be the one to kill the virus. One of us will do it."

"You're do that for me?" Akari asked as Cho grinned and replied, "What are best friends for?"

With that, Akari smiled lightly and said, "I'd rather he not die at all, but I guess that's really the best we can do. Thank you, Cho."

Yaamon and Sealsdramon were truly amazed. Having spent so long working for the virus, they had spent a great deal of time not knowing what true friendship was. Just seeing how well these five human girls got along was truly inspiring.

Once the vehicle was close enough, Sealsdramon stepped on the breaks and screeched it to a halt. Cho blinked and asked, "Are you sure it's a better idea to go on foot?"

"Yes, trust me on this," the dinosaur replied, "Military Colours do not blend well here, and trust me, there are Digimon in this area that can and will blow up the vehicle with us in it. We'd be dead before we could even try to fight back."

With that, all seven got out of the car as Akari took a deep breath. She then turned to the others and asked, "Are you ready?" Cho giving a thumb up and replying, "Ready as I'll ever be."

The others nodded in agreement as the group proceeded forward. In only a matter of seconds, they would be entering dangerous territory.

And once the group was close enough, Sealsdramon noticed two infected Digimon near the entrance. One was a panda with a menacing stare and the other was a stitched up black teddy bear with a cape and claws on only its left hand.

The girls wasted no time whipping their diamonds out and becoming their hero forms. With that, both bears let out loud roars as the panda formed a pair of sharp claws and the teddy rose its left hand menacingly.

Chise immediately tucked herself into her shell and rolled toward the teddy thus blocking the incoming slash from its claws. While it was distracted, Cho leapt at it and started to spin while shouting, "DOUBLE BACKHAND!" hitting the teddy a few times in the cheek.

"DEATH CLAW!" Hazuki shouted as she scratched it hard across the chest. This ended up ripping it open as it roared in pain and formed into data.

During this time, Akari was using her claws to match blows with the panda. This provided a good enough distraction for Asami to fly in with her beak formed and start pecking its forehead repeatedly.

With that, Sealsdramon rushed at the panda's midsection and struck it hard with its knife, putting a cut in that very spot while Akari sent an X-shaped slash there and exclaimed, "LIGHTNING PAW!"

With that, the panda formed into data and both bears had been dealt with. Sealsdramon's eyes and mouth were wide with shock. Both those bears were ultimate level and yet the girls had defeated them both with incredible ease. Maybe they really could pull this off.

However, just as this thought came to mind, it started to fade when he noticed a large number of Digimon near the entrance. And needless to say, all of them had spotted the girls. There were a few champions, sure, but the majority of them were ultimate level.

But just as it looked like the girls would have a difficult battle on their hands, Akari noticed a row of feathers fly into some of the Digimon, exploding upon contact. She then turned and noticed a certain ostrich racing into the area while creating multiple copies of himself to leap at the various enemies and start pecking vigorously at them.

"PECKMON!" Akari squeaked as the others stared, Yaamon saying, "He's a friend."

The ostrich managed to take out one with two of his clones helping him out as he exclaimed, "Hey, Akari! It's a shame we can't meet under better circumstances!"

"It's nice to see you again anyway!" the cat girl replied with a big smile only for Sealsdramon to try fighting off a Digimon coming up behind her, the dinosaur barking, "Hey, stay focused!"

Akari nodded as Peckmon shouted, "Don't worry about me! Focus on the virus!"

With that, the girls carried on. However, the combined efforts of Peckmon and his shadow clones were not quite enough as more and more infected Digimon joined the fight.

However, things took a turn for the better when an army of frogs with horns attached to their necks entered the area along with a big orange toad. While the frogs used their combined efforts to keep a few Digimon at bay, the big one let loose loud sound waves from his horns to turn a couple of them into data.

Asami and Hazuki turned with big smiled before waving happily, Asami exclaiming, "Hello, King Shogungekomon! It is a pleasure to see you!" the toad grinning and replying, "Yeah, we heard you might need our help!"

The Gekomon the girls had helped unite with Princess Otama was also there as he stated, "With Sir Gekomon dead, we figured you'd need the entire army!"

"Where's Otama?" Hazuki asked as the frog replied, "She's back at home. No way I'm having her partake in something like this!" Shogungekomon nodding and saying, "I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."

With that, the toad sounded his horns and sang, "CHARGE! Go forward! Bring them to their knees! The heroes of the Digital world will succeed with the help of you and me!"

Cho and Chise stared awkwardly as Sealsdramon explained, "They constantly sing about what they're feeling. It takes some getting used to."

As the girls advanced forward, a group of others showed up to stop them in their tracks. However, things took another turn for the better when suddenly, a certain elven boy and his fairy partner flew in, the boy striking one with his sword while the fairy turned two of them into baby Digimon.

"I was wondering if you of all Digimon would show," Yaamon said with a smirk as Petermon sighed, "I admit it, Yaamon. You might have had a point when you called me a coward. I owe you girls so much for the trouble I put you through. Consider this the ultimate apology."

"We already told you it was alright," Asami replied with a smile, "but thank you anyway."

As if that was not unexpected enough, a big blue bear with a moon on his forehead bound into the area and struck one of the Digimon hard with his claws. He then proceeded to fire a beam shaped like a moon from the symbol in question.

At that moment, a large white wolf with blue stripes appeared and hit another Digimon with a burst of blue fire. And to add to the convenience, a black wolf-like dinosaur flew into the area and fired a large metal sphere from her mouth, striking one of the infected creatures hard.

Suddenly, a white Siisaa bound into the area and fired arrows made of sunlight from her forehead. Petermon gave them all thumbs up and exclaimed, "Good job! You guys are even more awesome than before!"

"Wait, are those the kids who were staying with you?" Cho asked as the boy nodded and replied, "Tinkermon and I figured it wasn't right to prevent them from growing up, so we changed the rules of Never-Ever-Land. Now any inhabitant who wants to grow up is free to do so."

Just as he said this, more Digimon bound into the area. One was a small orange dinosaur, the second was a red beetle, the third was a humanoid plant and the forth was a purple dinosaur wearing a Kendo outfit.

The dinosaur sent a flame at one of them while the plant shots her fingers forward like vines. The beetle released an electric spark from his antennae as the dinosaur charged at the same target with his Kendo swords at the ready. And with that, all four managed to turn it into data with their combined efforts, cheering afterwards.

"Oh no, you weren't supposed to come!" Petermon retorted as the dinosaur asked, "Since when have you ever expected us to follow rules?"

Akari giggled before exclaiming, "Thank you so much! You've all been a great help!" Tinkermon replying, "It's no problem! Just hurry up! You do wanna save the world, right?"

The girls nodded as Hazuki exclaimed, "Careful, kids! These guys are tough!"

With more infected Digimon being kept at bay, the girls now found it easier to move on. However, they were soon stopped in their tracks by two serpent dragons with mechanical forearms. And unlike the others, they were not infected.

Sealsdramon gulped and uttered, "Oh no, not Megadramon and Gigadramon," Cho asking, "Are they really that bad?"

"No, they're worse," the dinosaur replied, "They may not be the most power of Digimon, but as far as ultimates go, they're two of the strongest."

"Who are you!?" Megadramon asked the dinosaur in a scary tone, Sealsdramon replying, "Sealsdramon, sir! I used to go under the name Commandramon!"

"So it's true," Gigadramon stated, "Commandramon turned on our master. He believed you'd been kidnapped by the girls, but we figured it must have been otherwise because you would never let yourself be used like that."

The girls were ready to take on the two when suddenly, two blasts of energy flew at them and hit them hard. However, this hardly seemed to slow them down, but an onslaught of energy blades certainly made things easier as both were covered in small cuts.

The girls turned and noticed Tono, Bigmamemon and Metalmamemon there along with Princemamemon and Piximon. Cho then blinked and asked, "Okay, how is everyone getting here so quickly and how did they all know we needed help?"

Piximon smiled and replied, "We sent your old friends a message. We did have to ask those not infected if they knew you, but it was worth it."

"As for how we go here so quickly," Tono replied, "We took Digital World transit."

"Transit?" Cho asked as Sealsdramon uttered, "Oh yeah, I forgot. Certain locations of the Digital World have stations where you can ride in Digimon named Locomon. They're literally living trains, but trust me, taking the vehicle was a lot more practical."

Asami, Hazuki and Cho glared while Akari and Chise shrugged, Cho sighing, "Still seems a little too convenient, but hey, better for something to be too convenient than inconvenient."

The dragon recovered from the damage dealt to them and roared before firing organic missiles formed from their flesh toward the group. With that in mind, Bigmamemon, Metalmamemon and Tono managed to stop the missiles from getting near them as Princemamemon propelled himself high off of the ground and rammed his forehead hard into one. Piximon added to the damage by forming a tiny bomb with wings with her spear and fired it at the two, a burst of energy coming from inside and weakening the dragons.

With that, the girls bowed their heads in respect before heading inside of the palace. Now nothing could stand in their way. They were going to fight the virus at full strength, but would this really be enough?


	37. Chapter 37

This was it. After everything the girls had been through, after how far they had gone, all five were going to finally come face-to-face with the virus who had threatened both the Digital World and theirs. Needless to say, this would not be easy.

But as the girls entered, they noticed Sealsdramon did not come with them as Akari turned and asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"No," the dinosaur replied with an army salute, "You girls are the only ones here who can stand up to his awesome power! I'll stay behind and make sure no one tries to interfere!"

Akari gave the dinosaur a sweet smile and replied, "Thanks. You're a great help," Sealsdramon blushing lightly as the cat girl turned to Yaamon and said, "You should probably stay behind too. I know you were strong as Beelzemon, but right now, well..."

"Yeah, you're right," Yaamon replied with a sigh, "As much as I'd love to help, it's just like you said. I couldn't even stand up to him alone in my mega form. I don't stand a chance like this."

And with that, the child stayed by the entrance as Sealsdramon closed the door behind him. And as luck would have it, there were no Digimon inside of the palace. All of them were outside fighting the others.

All the while the virus looked out his window with irritation on his face. He could not believe what he was seeing. All of these Digimon never had the guts to even take on his army before and yet here they were fighting off his infected soldiers all so the girls could make it to his lair. And to make matters worse, his only true subjects left were Megadramon and Gigadramon and both were being beaten pretty badly by Princemamemon and his family.

"I guess in order to get the best results, you have to do things yourself," the virus sighed to himself, "My best soldiers are either dead or have turned on me, all except possibly Minervamon and I have no idea where she is."

With that, the spider decided to wait. After all, he knew the girls had already gotten in and were going to reach his chambers soon.

And after a few seconds, the girls were outside of the door as Cho asked, "Alright, everyone, do you feel ready for this?"

"I'd like it better if we were all in our ultimate forms," Hazuki replied, "but we can't back down after all we've been through. Let's just get this over with."

Cho then turned to Chise who once again sported a serious look and nodded, the blue-haired girl giving her a kiss on the cheek. Asami, meanwhile, turned to all of the others and nodded.

"Akari, you know that in the end, we will have to kill him," Cho stated as the cat girl nodded and replied, "Yeah, I know. It's not something I want to do, but Mom once told me that if I have to perform a really important task and there's no other choice, I should do it even if it goes against what I believe in."

With that, the girls nodded one last time to one-another and opened the door. Upon seeing the virus, all five had to admit they were intimidated by his appearance alone. Sure, they had dealt with scary Digimon before, but none looked as menacing as this guy with his lifeless yellow eyes and wires making up the body under his armour.

"So you're Ophanimon's pets," the virus said as Asami remarked, "Excuse me?"

The spider ignored her words and added, "You've been giving me a lot of trouble, but why is it. What makes you girls stand out from the other heroes? Is it the fact that you really are stronger than the rest or is it just that there happens to be more of you?"

Rather than feeling offended or intimidated by these words, the girls remained serious as Asami remarked, "That hardly matters. The important thing is that we put you in your place."

Akari nodded and said, "I don't want to have to do this, but what you're doing is horrible. You can choose not to do this. Just because you're a virus doesn't mean you-"

"Yes, I do!" the virus retorted with a look of irritation, "Look, kid, I know you think you have some power to change everybody's minds, that you can talk your way out of every problem. You honestly believe that talking to me will change my mind."

Akari bit her lower lip, Cho scowling at the spider as he continued, "Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Viruses are designed to infect what they inhabit. Even if I didn't want to, I couldn't stop myself from doing this! Do you honestly believe I ever had any intention of sparing the Digimon who served me!?"

The girls gasped as he added, "That's right, they all followed me because they believed that I would spare them if they did. And even if I wanted to fulfil that promise, I couldn't, and you know why? Because it's my function. Once I reach full power, the entire Digital World along with yours will be infected! There is nothing I or anyone else could do to stop it! It's inevitable!"

The girls stared in stunned silence for quite some time until Hazuki uttered, "You monster. You lied to Beelzemon, Minervamon, Commandramon and all those others. If Petermon had known the truth, he wouldn't have tried to kill us."

"Don't forget Shogungekomon," Asami stated as Cho added, "And poor Asuramon. It's because of your lies that he believed death was the only way to cope with his loss to us. He was afraid to oppose you."

"Yes, their allegiance to me was a result of their own ignorance," the virus stated, "If they knew anything about how viruses worked, they would have known better. A lot of them had the power to resist my control but instead of using it to fight back, they wimped out and joined me instead."

Akari's body twitched as an uncommon look formed on her face, a look of absolute anger. All this time, the virus knew about this and did not tell anyone. She did not care what his reasons for this were. Making such a big promise while knowing he could not keep it was unforgivable.

With that in mind, the girl struck a fighter stance and exclaimed, "Let's end this!" the others nodding and making their own stances.

"One last thing before we start," the virus said, "My name is Infermon. Figured you may as well know the name of your killer."

During this time, things had taken an unexpected turn. It seemed the virus had used is power to summon reinforcements from other locations as they were coming in hoards. Though so far, the Digimon showing up to assist their allies were the ones in the forest. There were more yet to come.

Seeing this, Sealsdramon gulped and said, "Well, time to do my duty," the dragon running off into the line of danger while Yaamon slowly opened the door a tiny bit to see this. He gritted his teeth as he wished he could do something about this, but what could he do?

It was at that moment his body glowed. Suddenly, his head changed to a thinner shape as a small dog-like nose formed on his face. He then sprouted a dark-purple torso underneath while red gloves appeared on his new hands.

"Alright, I'm Impmon," the Digimon said with a grin before sighing, "I wish I was Beelzemon, but at least this is an improvement."

With that, Impmon ran outside and start hurling fireballs at the infected Digimon. Sure, he would not be of the most help in this state, but at least he could put up a decent fight now.

During this time, Infermon had started up the battle by opening up his mouth. A small gun barrel seemed to be inside of it as a big shell fired from it, creating a big explosion. The girls just barely managed to avoid it as the spider wasted no time unleashing more.

With this in mind, Cho took hold of Chise as the blond tucked herself into her shell. The blue-haired girl proceeded to kick her like a soccer ball toward Infermon, his eyes widening as she was lodged into his gaping mouth.

"Alright, now we got him!" Cho exclaimed as Hazuki exclaimed, "DEATH HAND!" and hurled a burst of black energy into Infermon's face.

But before the others could even try to add to the damage, Infermon pointed his head toward Hazuki and used his gun to fire Chise hard into her gut. Asami proceeded to hurl her feather at the spider only for him to tuck himself into the armour, taking the form of a cocoon and blocking the impact.

Before Asami could even try to come up with a countermeasure, the virus launched himself into her like a missile and sent her flying into a wall. Akari lunged at him only to wind up meeting the same fate as he proceeded to revert back to his normal state.

"Now's our chance!" Cho exclaimed as she and Chise prepared to strike. However, Infermon saw this coming as he rose his legs in the air. And just as the girls were close enough, he sent them downward, stomping on their heads and slamming them hard against the floor.

With that, he wrapped his spiky toes around their necks as she both started to gasp for air. The others stared in horror while rushing toward Infermon. However, the spider once again tucked himself into his armour, pulling Cho and Chise's heads up against the openings. And with that, he used his feet to launch them away from him, Chise flying hard into Asami while Cho hit Hazuki.

But of course, Infermon had not hit Akari as the cat girl was close enough to strike his arms while they were still dangling out. With that, she sent her claws downward and shouted, "LIGHTNING PAW!" putting three big scratches on his right leg.

This seemed to deal some damage as small sparks were flying out of that very spot. However, Infermon ignored this as he opened his mouth and sent a hard shot into Akari's chest. The girl's eyes and mouth were wide open as she flew into the wall, coughing up blood.

"These are the heroes whose power is great enough to match mine!?" Infermon exclaimed, "You are pathetic! Not only are your strategies predictable, but both times you've managed to hit me, I didn't feel a thing! I guess Asuramon, Beelzemon and Minervamon were all weaklings."

This struck a nervous as Akari glared and retorted, "Don't say that about Beelzemon! He was one of the strongest Digimon I've ever seen!"

But just as Infermon was about ready to taunt her some more, he noticed plenty of data flying into the air outside. His eyes went wide as he said, "Hold that thought."

With that, the spider opened his mouth as a big gust of wind headed into it. He seemed to be trying to inhale something, but what?

The girls stared in absolute confusion as after a few seconds, the data from outside came into the building and into Infermon's mouth. He then closed his mouth and swallowed before saying, "Sorry for the distraction," his body briefly glowing red.

"What just happened?" Cho asked as Infermon chuckled wickedly and said, "All this time, you girls thought you were doing the infected Digimon a favour by killing them, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Asami asked as Akari uttered, "But they wanted us to."

"Oh, I have no doubt they did," Infermon replied, "After all, I was using them to hurt the innocent, but by killing them, you and all the other heroes in the world have actually been helping me."

The girls were even more confused as he added, "It is true that normally when a Digimon dies, it is reborn in the form of an egg so that it may start life anew, very much like your theory of reincarnation. But I have made a few changes to that. Part of the benefit of being a virus is that I can absorb data, so whenever a Digimon dies, its data is used to give me power and speed up my evolution into the most powerful virus in existence."

"So you mean all this time-" Chise uttered, Infermon nodding and replying, "That's right. You've been helping me achieved my dreams. I'd thank you and everyone else, but I know none of you meant to do it."

"But that's horrible," Akari uttered, "That means none of them came back to life," Infermon replying, "I wouldn't say that. Somehow, there was one who managed to avoid me, Beelzemon, though he's probably still an egg right now."

The girls said nothing in response to this, Asami acting shocked. However, Infermon could tell she was faking that as he asked, "Do you know something about that?"

The girls remained silent as the spider shrugged and replied, "It doesn't matter, anyway. He's no longer a threat. Soon enough, he'll be infected like everyone else anyway."

And while he said this, more and more data was pouring in. Not only were the girls' allies helping out, a few of the Gekomon soldiers had been killed during the battle. And Infermon was soaking up all of their data.

"Someone needs to tell the others to retreat," Asami uttered as Infermon remarked, "I simply can't let you do that," Akari taking a deep breath and smiling wide, the others staring in shock. How could she smile right now?

"Akari, are you alright?" Cho asked as the girl nodded and replied, "Yes. I just know that if we kill Infermon, all of the data he has absorbed will be released."

"That actually makes sense," Hazuki uttered as Infermon blinked and uttered, "Uh, no, it'll be destroyed along with me," Cho narrowing her eyelids and remarking, "Now who's the bad liar?"

Though the blue-haired girl was still surprised by Akari's smile as she asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this?" the cat girl nodding and replying, "You heard what he said. Even if he does change his mind, it wouldn't change anything. He'd eventually get enough power to infect everyone."

"Well, then, I think the situation calls for some extra power," Asami stated as the girls nodded and closed their eyes. And with that, Cho, Chise and and the rich girl all became their champion levels as Infermon shrugged and replied, "So you have a little extra force. That hardly matters."

While this went on, Sealsdramon was feeling useless now. Once more and more reinforcements rolled in, things had gotten far more challenging. They had already lost quite a number of Gekomon soldiers and it seemed like only a matter of time until someone else went down.

However, his train of thought when when Impmon was knocked back by a mantis-like creature with sickles for arms. The dinosaur readied his blades with panic in his eyes when suddenly, a beautiful young woman rushed into the area with a big red sword raised and sliced the bug's head off, causing it to turn into data.

Sealsdramon stared in silence as this woman had long sky-blue hair with pigtails that went down to her ankles. She wore a white snake skull as a helmet with wing bones attached to its sides. He had shoulder pads made from the same material, a red spiked shoulder guard and a white snake for a left arm. She sported a white brassiere to cover the lower parts of her chest and had a black waistband. She wore stockings of the same colour that only covered half of each leg and had shoes with spikes on the ends of them. Finally, she had yellow eyes, purple lipstick and fangs sticking out of the sides of her mouth.

Sealsdramon had no idea who this was, but he was beyond grateful as the woman turned to him and winked, asking, "You okay, Sealsdramon?"

The dinosaur blinked and asked, "Do I know you?" the woman nodding and replying, "Oh yeah, I look different now, don't I? You like it?" before striking a pose like a supermodel.

Sealsdramon's jaw dropped as he shook his head and asked, "Is that you, Minervamon?"

"YAY, YOU RECOGNIZED ME!" the woman squealed before hugging him, the dinosaur blushing bright as she added, "I go by the name Mervamon now."

"But how?" Sealsdramon asked, "You're a mega level Digimon. That means you can't Digivolve."

"I'm not completely sure how it works myself," Mervamon replied, "but, well, after what you told me, I got to thinking and realized you might be right. Once I cleared my mind and realized the correct path, I somehow changed into this."

The dinosaur was still rather confused by this, but he was glad to have the assistance as Mervamon smirked and said, "By the way, there's something really I wanna tell you when this is over."

With that, the woman sprinted toward a group of Digimon that were giving Peckmon a rather hard time. She started to spin with her sword and snake arm pointed outward and whipped up a large tornado that almost instantly tore apart all of the opponents it touched. The ostrich blinked and bowed his head in respect to the woman.

Mervamon proceeded to help out the remaining Gekomon and Shogungekomon by punching one ultimate Digimon with her snake hand. She then proceeded to have the hand open its mouth and bite off the Digimon's head, the woman laughing like a psycho the whole time.

The frogs stared in absolute horror but decided to accept this. Sure, snakes were natural predators of frogs, but clearly this one was on their side and they could not have been more grateful, especially since becoming Mervamon had increased the woman's power exponentially.

But while things were certainly looking up for the others, the same could not be said for the girls. Despite their power having been increased, they were still having trouble with Infermon. Asami fired her ring beams at the virus only for him to easily avoid damage by tucking himself into his armour. Then with that, he proceeded to launch himself toward Cho just as she was setting up for an attack.

Chise saw this coming and exclaimed, "TAIL HAMMER!" ramming her spiked ball hard into the side of the armour. However, this did absolutely nothing as Infermon used one of his feet to shove her into a wall while ramming himself hard into Cho's gut.

However, the blue-haired girl was not going to let herself lose so easily. As such, she ignored the pain and placed a firm grip against his armour thus preventing him from moving.

With that, Infermon spread out his legs in an attempt to free himself when Cho exclaimed, "NOW!" Akari and Hazuki slashing two of his legs while Chise recovered from the blow dealt earlier and rammed her tail hard against another. Asami topped it all off by planting her feet hard into the remaining leg while Cho smirked and lifted Infermon up a little bit, adding to the pressure placed on his legs.

However, despite this, Infermon once again ignored all pain as he shot his head out, planting it into Cho's gut. Thanks to the horn on his head, this put a hole in her as blood trickled down, the virus having now freed himself.

With that taken care of, he proceeded to spin his body around like a fan with two sets of blades. This allowed him to ram his feet into the other four surrounding him as they flew into the wall, Cho falling to her knees and breathing heavily.

"I have to admit, that was actually pretty clever," Infermon said after regaining composure, "but it's still not enough. And to think I was actually afraid of you."

The girls glared in fury as Chise and Akari gave Cho a look of concern. However, the blue-haired girl simply grinned and gave them thumbs up. After all, she once dealt with the bullet to the side. This was nothing in comparison to that.

"Don't look so confident," Infermon said as data flew into the room and entered his mouth. The girls were horrified now as he said, "Either more of my soldiers have died or your allies are doing a horrible job. Whatever the case, it gives me more power."

"We really need to end this quickly!" Cho exclaimed as the girls nodded and closed their eyes. They were unsure of whether or not the situation was dire enough, but they needed their ultimate forms right now, especially since Cho, Chise and Asami had less than a minute until their champion forms wore off.

And as luck would have it, the situation did seem bad enough as their bodies glowed, all five taking on their ultimate forms. The spider's eyes widened as Akari was an angel, Cho had mechanical forearms and legs, Chise was part statue, Hazuki had the form of a vampire and Asami had bigger wings.

"We only got a little over a minute," Hazuki stated, "Let's make this count. He may be strong, but don't forget, he's also an ultimate!"

Akari nodded and formed a ring of light over her head, exclaiming, "HOLY AIR!" the light paralysing Infermon while healing all five girls. And with all, the others unleashed their own techniques at the same time in the hopes that the combined damage would finish him in one hit.

"WING BLADE!" Asami exclaimed as she unleashed a bird-shaped vacuum blade made out of fire toward the virus. Hazuki held her hands forward and shouted, "NIGHTMARE WAVE!" sending a large bolt of electricity into Infermon.

"JUSTICE BEAM!" Chise exclaimed as she shot beams from her eyes, Cho charging toward the virus with her fist ready and barking, "WINNING KNUCKLE!" landing a hard punch to his face.

With all four attacks hitting him fast and hard and Infermon unable to fight back, he cried out in pain. It seemed the girls had finally managed to hurt him, but they would not end with that as they prepared for another attack.

"Should I-?" Akari uttered as Cho replied, "You did enough with that ring of yours. Remember, we promised we'd finish the job."

But just as the girls were ready to attack one more time, Infermon sent four shots at blinding speed toward Cho, Chise, Hazuki and Asami. All of them took in hard hits and flew into the walls, wincing in pain. Despite being in their ultimate levels, this still dealt a great deal of damage to them.

Infermon's head seemed to have been forced sideways as he quickly snapped it back into place, his eyes wide open. The virus then took a deep breath and said, "Well, I really have to hand it to you. That surprised me, but even so, you are no match for me."

However, his eyes went wide as Akari exclaimed, "CELESTIAL ARROW!" the girl sending an arrow straight through his right legs. This caused both to be snapped in half as he fell on his side, Akari saying, "Alright, I've weakened him. You can finish him off now."

However, the others seemed too weak to attack as Akari's eyes widened, Cho grunting, "Sorry, Akari."

The angel then noticed Infermon's legs starting to grow back as she took a deep breath and said, "I guess it has to be done," the girl then forming another arrow and pointing it directly at the virus.

"CELESTIAL ARROW!" she exclaimed as she unleashed an arrow hard into Infermon's chest. Since he was still laying on his side, this was possible, and the timing could not have been better. At that exact second, all five girls reverted to their earlier forms as Infermon's armour shattered, his eyes and mouth wide open.

Akari took a deep breath and said, "I didn't want to be the one to finish you off, but you left me with little choice. I'm sorry."

But just as she had said this, her eyes widened when she noticed data still flying in and entering the virus' mouth. But why? He should have been dead.

Well, it seemed he was not as his body started to glow and change form. His rings became real hands with dark-blue plating over them and his claws were now red. He had actual flesh now, which was a light tan colour. He had messy orange hair coming down the sides of his head and a blue war helmet over his skinny head. He had a dark-blue suit of armour attached to his chest and a green gem on his belly. Finally, he had a pair of shoulder guards and two red spikes coming out of his back.

"No..." Akari uttered as the virus took hold of the arrow and pried it out of his chest, crushing it in half with his new hand as he let out a maniacal laugh and exclaimed, "Yes, I've done it! I've finally reached full power! All hail your new king, Diaboromon!"


	38. Chapter 38

This was the worst possible scenario. Akari had mustered up the courage to strike Infermon down but it was too late. Not only had he survived the attack, but now he had full power and had become a mega level Digimon by the name of Diaboromon.

"I'll give you credit where it's due!" the virus exclaimed, "You actually came very close to defeating me! If I hadn't gained full power at this exact moment, I would have been deleted for sure! Thank you for delaying your shot!"

"No," the cat girl uttered as the others barely had enough strength to witness this. However, the girls were not going to let this be the end.

"Come on, we can still fight!" Cho grunted as she slowly rose to her feet, "I may be a rookie again, but it's better than nothing!"

Chise nodded and tried her best to remain calm about the situation. Hazuki and Asami were also more than ready. Seeing this, Akari gulped and realized there were no other options right now. Either they continue to fight or allow Diaboromon to infect both the Digital World and theirs.

However, it seemed they really did have no choice in the matter as a big wave of dark energy came from Diaboromon and spread through the entire area, knocking the girls into a wall. And soon that energy spread outside of the castle, first hitting the area outside.

Luckily, there were quite a few Digimon outside who were immune to the virus. As such, Tinkermon, the kids, the Mamemon family, Mervamon and Impmon were all safe from the mind control curse. Unfortunately, the others were not so lucky.

Tinkermon gasped in shock as Petermon clutched onto his head shouting, "NO! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! I DON'T WANNA BE A SERVANT!"

However, a serious look came over his eyes as Tinkermon asked, "Honey, are you okay?" only for the boy to use his sword to knock her lance out of her hand. The fairy's eyes widened as the bear fighting on her side turned and spat, "He's been infected! He told us that if this ever happened, we should kill him immediately!"

The kids were too distracted by their own opponents to do so and Tinkermon did not wish to do such a thing. As such, she closed her eyes and bit her lower lip while Petermon took hold of her collar, bringing his short sword close to her neck.

While this went on, Shogungekomon had an angry look in his eyes as he started to release low growls, Gekomon turning to him and exclaiming, "Father!?" only for the frog to clutch onto his head and let out a loud cry, his expression becoming that of anger as well. And it not long until the other amphibians joined him.

Peckmon had also succumbed to the curse as he stopped fighting the other infected Digimon and instead turned his attention toward the kids. Impmon, all the while, was backed up against a corner with panic in his expression. If only he could be at his mega level right now.

The Mamemon family stared in horror at all of their allies falling victim to the curse, but the one most devastated of all was Mervamon. She leapt over to Sealsdramon and gave him a look of concern asking, "Are you okay?"

Her question was answered when the dinosaur let out a low growling sound, his blue eye becoming red. Mervamon was to mortified to respond as he lifted up his knife and jabbed it into her gut, blood trickling out. Sure, the woman could have easily responded to this, but she could not bring herself to harm her dearly beloved even if deep down, he mostly likely wanted to be killed right now.

And during this time, the virus spread to many other locations. Soon enough, all of the residents of the desert village Akari had gone to were infected as were the remaining citizens of Swamp Kingdom. Even Princess Otama had fallen victim to the curse, and since infected Digimon could not think straight, this meant the amphibians would likely never sing again.

Lekismon watched in horror as all of the children in Primary Village fell victim to the curse, all of them letting out small roars. And it was not long until the caretaker herself succumbed to the curse.

Unfortunately, Data Village had also been effected. Grapleomon had been the only member of Ophanimon's army who was immune to the virus and as such, everyone had been infected. Even Magnaangemon and Ophanimon were unable to resist, both of them looking hungry for battle.

However, something even more strange happened. Just as the girls were about to try and attack Diaboromon again, an orb of light surrounded each as they vanished from sight. The virus blinked and shrugged, figuring this made no real difference.

The same had also happened to the Digimon who had not been infected, Tinkermon, Mervamon and Impmon disappearing mere seconds before they could be killed.. Where they had been whisked off to was anyone's guess, but on the upside, at least they were out of danger.

However, this hardly seemed like a good thing as now the entire Digital World was covered in darkness. The vast majority of Digimon were under Diaboromon's control and it was only a matter of time until he went for the human world.

But what exactly had happened to the others? This would all be made clear as they suddenly found themselves floating in an area that was completely white. There was no floor, no walls, nothing but white. There were a few Digimon the girls had not yet met there, but it was a rather small number.

"Where are we?" one of them asked as Impmon uttered, "That's a good question."

Mervamon and Tinkermon were both hugging their knees and letting down light tears. Neither of the two cared where she was right now or how she had come to be there. All each one could think about was how the love of her life had been infected and come close to killing her.

"Dad, are we in heaven?" Tono asked as Princemamemon replied, "If the Digital World has a heaven, that could be a possibility."

"What happened?" the furry dinosaur, Dorugamon asked while the white wolf, Garurumon, added, "That's a good question. We were winning and then suddenly, the others just turned on us. This stinks."

Cho, Chise, Hazuki and Asami all let out a sigh before turning to Akari. The girl had tears in her eyes, sniffing while she looked down.

"Are you okay?" Hazuki asked as the redhead whimpered, "We couldn't stop him and it's all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" Asami remarked, "You almost defeated that monster. It was all just bad timing."

"No," Akari replied, shaking her head, "You heard what he said. If I hadn't delayed my arrow like that, he would have been finished. It's all my fault for hesitating."

Chise bit her lower lip as Mervamon looked up and asked, "What happened?" the others equally curious. They did not know that the virus had gained full power during their battle.

"Well, I don't want you to feel like you've done something wrong," Hazuki replied, "but, well, during this fight and, heck, during this whole ordeal, we've been helping the virus gain power."

"Wait, what!?" Impmon retorted as everyone stared in horror, the blue bear, Grizzlymon, retorting, "Hey, I did nothing of the sort!"

"No, we all played a part in this," Cho stated, "See, every time a Digimon died, we were under the impression that it would be revived as always, right? Well, as it just so happens, the virus has been absorbing the data of every dead Digimon."

Tinkermon looked up with horror in her eyes, Chise uttering, "Just as Akari was about to delete the virus for good, a whole bunch of data came in and gave him enough power to reach his mega level. Now he has full power."

Mervamon gasped as the group turned to her, the woman taking a deep breath and clutching onto her head. That last string of kills before the infection spread were all caused by her. She was the one who had ultimately given Diaboromon the power he needed.

The others looked at her with concern. It was as Hazuki had said. Mervamon was not the only one to blame for all of this. Everyone had played a part.

However, Impmon was confused as he asked, "Wait, if that's true, then why didn't he absorb my data? Let alone that fact, does he know why I'm the only Digimon who didn't lose so much as one memory from my past life?"

"Oh, you've reached your rookie form," Akari uttered as the Digimon nodded and replied, "Yeah, my name's Impmon now," before blinking and sighing, "Now can you answer my question?"

"The virus did not know either," Asami replied, "He said you were the only one who managed to avoid being absorbed by him, but that was pretty much it. Though he is unaware of the fact that you are alive now."

"Well, all this is well and good," Cho grumbled, "But who's bright idea was it to bring us here!? We were so close! We could have beaten him!"

"No we couldn't," Akari uttered as the others turned to her, Cho asking, "Wait, did I just hear you of all people say the equivalent of 'never'?"

"Well, we might be able to if we go stronger," Akari replied, "but as we were, it was pretty much hopeless."

"What are you saying!?" Tinkermon retorted, Mervamon adding, "Are you telling me there's no way to bring my beloved Sealsdramon back!?" all going silent as she added, "By defeating the virus, of course."

"I always try to look on the bright side of things, but I can't right now," Akari whimpered, "You saw how strong he was in his ultimate form. We all attacked him at once. We all had to become our ultimate forms just to hurt him, and now he's a mega. I don't think our combined powers can stop him."

All went silent as Hazuki looked down and uttered, "I hate to say it, but she has a point."

The others were starting to lose faith now when suddenly, a deep, dramatic voice entered the area and stated, "You are correct, Akari!"

Everyone went wide-eyed as Cho spat, "What was that!?" the voice adding, "As you are now, you don't stand a chance, but I can be of help!"

Suddenly, everyone noticed a large human head form. This head was of a rather handsome-looking man with short brown hair, nice blue eyes and a goatee. He had a serious look in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Akari, look at me right now!" the redhead turning as her eyes widened, the girl uttering, "Who are you?"

"I am the one who brought you all here for safety!" the head explained, "I am Akio, the man who created the Digital World," then with an intense look on his face, he added, "and I AM your uncle!"

The area fell silent until Akari tilted her head to the side and replied, "But my uncle lives in Sapporo," the head letting out a sigh and groaning, "Come on, you could at least try to play along!" his voice no longer deep and now a tad on the dorky side.

Everyone stared in confusion as the head shrunk down to the size of a normal human head, a thin, semi-muscular torso forming underneath. He then proceeded to walk toward the group while looking at Mervamon and saying, "I installed that second form of yours so long ago, I'd just about forgotten what it looked like. Clearly this was my best work."

The man then proceeded to look down at her chest as she gasped and smacked him in the face with her snake arm. Akio then rubbed his cheek and said, "Okay, I deserved that."

"Hold on," Cho uttered, "So back up, you're the one who created Digimon and the Digital World?" Akio turning to her and replying, "Well, I don't mean to brag, but yes, I did."

The Digimon all stared in shock as a few of them fell to their knees and gave Akio a bow. However, Cho looked rather annoyed as she snapped, "Now, hold on!? If you're the creator of this entire world, where have you been this whole time!? You could have helped us defeat the virus, like, say, create an anti-virus or something like that!"

"I hate to tell you this, but that's out of my control now," the man replied, "I'm sure it's already been explained, but I don't know how to make anti-virus software, so I gave the Digimon a better way to defend themselves."

"A lot of good that's done," Hazuki remarked, "The viruses took that ability," Akio sighing, "Thank you for reminding me."

"I'm sure he didn't mean any of this," Akari uttered before turning to the man and asking, "But what happened to you?"

"Funny story," Akio replied, "I was actually in the middle of creating a Digimon who could combat the ultimate virus, the one you girls just faced. But before I could, some strange force pulled me into the computer and now I'm kind of like a part of the program. I guess you could call me, quite literally, the god of the Digital World. Neat, huh?"

Everyone stared in utter silence, Chise breaking it up by asking, "But if that's true, why didn't you take action until now?"

"I already explained that," Akio remarked as Asami cut in, saying, "I do not believe that is what Chise meant. I think what she is really asking is why you waited until the last minute to warp us all here. If you had the power to send Digimon to a world where they would be safe from the virus, why did you not do so?"

Akio let out a sigh and groaned, "Believe you me, ever since I was brought here, I've been working tirelessly to create this place. In fact, it's unfinished. This was originally supposed to look exactly like mankind's interpretation of heaven, but as you can see, it's just an empty space right now."

"Hold it," Mervamon said, "I thank you for saving us when we needed it, but is this our destiny, to spend our whole lives living here while the entire planet is infected?" the other Digimon now talking amongst themselves in panic.

This was definitely a good point. Right now, Diaboromon was way too powerful for even the girls to defeat. Was this really all life had in store, an eternity spent floating through an empty space?

As if that was not bad enough, Akio had a nervous look in his eyes as he gulped and uttered, "Well, when you put it that way, it does sound pretty bad," the girls all mortified by this.

They would never see their families, go to school or anything of the sort ever again. None of them wanted that. As if that was not enough, their families were likely suffering right now while the girls were unable to do a thing to stop it. How could things possibly get any worse?

"Are you serious!?" Cho snapped, "We're gonna be stuck here forever!" Chise and Akari both whimpering and feeling helpless.

Hazuki let out a sigh as Asami groaned, "I will never find true love or get my own personal mansion or any of the things I dreamed of!"

The other Digimon did not like the idea of spending their whole lives here either. The place was so empty and lifeless.

"So is there really nothing else we can do?" Akari asked with a sad look in her eyes, Akio gulping and trembling all over. On one hand, he had no idea what to do. But on the other hand, he could he just let everyone down like that?

With that in mind, the man took a deep breath and closed his eyes, rubbing his temple. The others stared as after a few seconds, the man's eyes widened.

"I just got me a brilliant idea!" Akio exclaimed, Tono asking, "Really?" as all of the Digimon hoped this would not be something stupid or childish.

"Oh yes, this is the best idea I've ever had!" the man stated before holding out his hands and saying, "First of all, girls, hand me your diamonds."

The girls stared awkwardly as Chise uttered, "We can't do that," Cho sighing, "She's right. Whenever the diamonds are taken from us, they return to us immediately."

"Okay, fine," the man replied with a shrug, "Holds onto the diamonds and hold out your hands."

The girls turned to one-another and shrugged. With that, they held their diamonds in their hands and held them out, Akio covering the diamonds with his own hands. He used the same means of altering his size earlier to make his hands big enough to pull this off and took a deep breath, focusing hard.

With that, a bright light surrounded the six and stayed there for a while. Once it faded Akio moved his hands back and took a deep breath.

"What did you just do?" Hazuki asked as the man replied, "I added power to your diamonds, or at least that's what I was trying to do. See, what I just attempted should be easier than making an entire world to keep others safe. Seeing as those diamonds have Digimon living inside of them, this was something I was certain could be done."

"So, what kind of power did you give us?" Chise asked as Akio replied, "Well, close your eyes and think about taking on your ultimate levels," the girls doing as instructed. After all, what did they have to lose from this?

Akio's eyes widened when the girls all glowed and became their ultimate forms. They were not in a battle, had not met dire circumstances and it had been a very short time since they last used their diamonds. How could this possibly be.

It seemed even Akio did not completely understand this as he exclaimed, "Wow! That turned out better than expected!" Impmon asking, "So you just gave them the power to become their ultimate levels whenever they want?"

"Yep," Akio replied, "And best of all, your forms shouldn't ware off anymore, meaning that when you take on your ultimate forms, you'll remain that way for the duration of the battle. Figured this would help you fight the virus more easily."

Cho looked at her mechanical arms and said, "Okay, I take back whatever harsh things I said to you earlier. You, sir, are a genius."

"I must say, this is incredible," Asami added while admiring her wings, "That virus won't know what hit him."

"Thank you so much," Chise uttered as she looked at her statue-like arms, Hazuki giving her sleeves a glance and adding, "I missed having this as my default form. Thanks."

Akari nodded and bowed her head to Akio, saying, "You have helped out more than you could ever know. We're ready to go back and finish this."

"Not quite," Akio replied, "First, I will need to find out where the virus has gone. For all we know, he's probably in the human world right now."

And with that, the man formed a small screen in front of himself, his eyes widening as he uttered, "Oh. This is awkward."

The girls and Digimon all gathered in front of the screen and stared in sheer horror. It was just as Akio had feared. Not only had Diaboromon entered the human world, he had unleashed all of his infected Digimon upon the public. The sky had become dull and grey as all of the locations in Tokyo were worn down. The only upside was that the humans had not had their minds controlled, but with them unable to fight back, this was hardly a good thing.

The virus looked upon the destruction his servants had brought upon the world, teleporting from one area to the next. Cities and towns all over the world were suffering and the appointed heroes were helpless against so many threats at once. But Diaboromon had promised to spare anyone who chose to surrender to him and soon enough, even most of the heroes did just that.

Some of them did it for their sakes, but most of the heroes who surrendered did so for their families. They were afraid of how their parents and siblings would feel if they died.

Though some heroes refused to back down and did all they could to fight back against the threat. Each one managed to strike down one or two infected Digimon, but ultimately, those who dared to stand against Diaboromon were ultimately killed. It was especially difficult with the members of Ophanimon's army helping him out.

"This is wonderful!" Diaboromon exclaimed with a big grin, "I may not have been able to infect the humans, but at least I can still bring them to my knees. That's the next best thing."

Akari bit her lip and let down light tears, whimpering, "It's awful," Hazuki nodding and adding, "And just think. He managed to pull this off in less than ten minutes. We gotta go in there now."

"I thought you'd say that," Akio replied with a grin, "I'll just pinpoint his next destination. But while you're there, focus your efforts primarily on the virus. You had enough trouble getting the upper hand before. Imagine if you weren't fighting him at full strength."

"In that case, I'd like to help hold off the infected Digimon," Mervamon stated, "I played a big part of his Digivolution," the Mamemon family nodding as Piximon said, "We would also like to help."

"You can count me in!" Tinkermon exclaimed, "That monster's gonna pay for what he did to my beloved Petermon!" the kids joining in as well.

Impmon took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, I wanna help out too. I know I'm not all that strong, but I served that monster."

"Are you all sure you want to do this?" Akari asked as Akio said, "That's a good question. There are a lot of Digimon there. It might be too much for even you guys to handle."

"Don't you worry about a thing," Mervamon replied with a smirk, "Besides, if we don't provide a distraction, who's to say the infected Digimon won't help the virus?"

Cho nodded and replied, "It'll be great having you all on board," the blue-haired girl flashing a grin while Chise nodded and said, "I'd feel much more confident knowing that someone can protect Mommy from them."

Akio nodded and replied, "Alright, sounds good. But there's one last thing you should know. Akari, your theory behind the data absorbed by the virus is true. If you can defeat him, all of it will be transferred to its rightful place. But more so, any infected Digimon still alive will be free from his control."

He then winked at Mervamon and Tinkermon and added, "That means you can still save your boyfriend," both females grinning bright and filling up with confidence.

With that, Akio found out where Diaboromon was and stated, "Alright, I've pinpointed the exact location. He is headed to Tokyo as we speak. Isn't that convenient?"

With that, the girls all put on serious looks as the man took a deep breath and said, "The only downside is that I can't join you there, but I can at least help out."

The girls bowed their heads in respect as Akio trapped the humans and Digimon inside the orbs of light used before. With that, all of them vanished, soon to reappear in Tokyo. Now all Akio could do was pray that their efforts would be good enough.


	39. Chapter 39

Diaboromon had arrived in Tokyo and was walking around, admiring all the wreckage his allies had caused. Many people were gathered in the middle of the street, forced to give into the Digimon. Even the police and military had failed to stop this threat.

"I am standing in downtown Tokyo," Juri stated with the camera pointed at her, "where Digimon infected by that horrible virus have shown up in droves. Luckily, their master has no intention of killing us as long as we follow him. All hail our new king! Um, what was his name again?"

"Diaboromon," the camera man remarked as the woman said, "Yes, all hail our new king, Diaboromon. God, what a stupid name."

One nearby Digimon pointed a blade at the Juri as she laughed nervously and uttered, "Yes, I called his name 'stoopid', you know, with two O's instead of a U. Kids still talk like that, right?"

"Leave her be," Diaboromon said as his servant backed down, the virus standing before the camera and adding, "It's not this fine young woman's fault that she can't watch her mouth. Though next time, come up with a better save than that."

At that moment, a certain woman with long red hair and her husband were walking by, both being led through town with a large group. The woman gasped upon seeing Diaboromon and turned to her captor, asking, "Excuse me, sir, but may I talk to his majesty?"

Diaboromon heard this and walked over saying, "Oh, yes, you may speak to me granted your words are not malicious in any way, shape or form. I'm sure that unlike Juri, you can control your desire to insult me."

The reporter in question was trembling in terror as Yumi let out a sigh and asked, "I want to ask you a question. Were you, by chance, challenged by my daughter, Akari? She has red hair like me only it's much shorter and she's rather slender. When she went to the Digital World, she was wearing a white T-shirt and-"

"I know who you're talking about," Diaboromon replied, "So your the mother of that wannabe pacifist who turned my best soldiers against me. Since you were polite with your question, I'll give you the good news and the bad news."

Kenta gasped and uttered, "So you did fight her?" the virus nodding and replying, "Yes, and the good news, at least for you, is that I was unable to kill her."

Both parents breathed a sigh of relief as Diaboromon added, "The bad news is that they've been whisked away somewhere, and even I don't know where I've been taken. My assumption is that whoever robbed me of the satisfaction of ending the lives of those heroes performed the deed himself."

Yumi's eyes widened as she let down a light tear. Kenta patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, honey. He said it's just an assumption. I highly doubt it's true."

"If that's all, I think I'll have one last look around the entire city before heading elsewhere," Diaboromon replied before heading elsewhere, Yumi holding Kenta's hand with sadness in her expression.

It was at this exact moment that the girls and their Digimon companions had been warped back to where they had been when the portal to the Digital World appeared, Shinjuku Gyoen to be exact. They could not believe what they were seeing. All the grass and plants were withered and the water appeared polluted. It was truly a horrible sight.

"No," Chise uttered, "What has he done?" Impmon replying, "He's a virus. Viruses live to infect."

"I still can't believe I followed him," Mervamon sighed, "I should have known that a virus wouldn't be able to spare us after reaching full power."

"Don't beat yourself up," Impmon remarked, "I thought the same thing too. Heck, I didn't even know I was immune to his power."

Tinkermon took a deep breath and said, "Whatever the case, at least we're able to fight back."

"She's right," Cho stated, "Let's just think about stopping the virus right now," the girls nodding as Akari said, "I wish we didn't have to kill him, but we have no choice. If he's not deleted, the whole world will be destroyed."

Hazuki nodded and replied, "Don't worry, we're all in this together. With our ultimate forms lasting longer, we might be able to pull this off together."

Asami smiled and said, "Quite right. I cannot wait to see the look on Diaboromon's face when we kick his tail."

"Alright," Tono said with a grin, "You guys take care of the virus. We'll deal with the infected Digimon."

"Thank you," Akari said with a big smile, "But don't kill any of them. I'd rather they all revert to normal," Mervamon replying, "I might be able to handle that. I'll have to hold back with my strength, but I think I might be able to at least knock them out."

The other Digimon agreed to this as Impmon gave Akari thumbs up with a smirk. Akari also held her thumb up as the girls sprinted off, the Digimon going in many different directions so they could save more people at once.

Cho's nose was on high alert as Chise asked, "Can you smell him," the blue-haired girl replying, "I smell lots of Digimon, but yeah, one particular smell overpowers the rest. I'm certain it's him."

With that, Cho directed the others North-West as they proceeded to head that way. However, they soon found a slew of infected Digimon before them. Seeing this, the girls nodded at one-another and took flight. Though while the others used wings, Hazuki had her bats carry her. Right now, their job was to focus primarily on the virus, not waste their energy on the lackeys.

During this time, many other humans continued to suffer torment from the infected Digimon. But while at the very least, they were able to keep from suffering the Digimon's torment, a woman's eyes widened when the baby she was holding started to cry.

A unicorn with a wolf's head glared at the child and growled, walking closer while the woman held onto the boy with anger in her eyes. She refused to allow her child to suffer because of a natural impulse. But just as she was about to be killed along with her baby, Piximon rushed in and jabbed her spear into the unicorn's neck.

The beast turned toward her as she proceeded hit it with a small bomb with wings. With one last blow to its head, the unicorn was unconscious.

The woman trembled at the sight of the queen as she landed and gave a bow, saying, "Fear not. I am a friend," then giving a warm smile, she added, "Your baby's adorable. I'm a mother too."

The woman felt a tad more at ease when another infected Digimon appeared. Piximon wasted no time flying toward the creature and waging battle with it. Though all the while, she hoped her husband was doing fine.

He seemed to be doing fine as he saved a group of children by ramming his head into the side of a rhino with golden armour. Sure, it did hurt him a little bit, but since Princemamemon was a mega level Digimon, he was able to overpower even this kind of armour.

"That was so cool," one of the kids uttered as Princemamemon gave the kid thumbs up, his teeth sparkling as he stated, "Worry not, children, we are here to help."

Yae was currently being led through the city by a pair of dinosaurs. She often had a calm look on her face, but right now, she was horrified. It was not so much because of the Digimon threatening her to follow them but rather it was their very presence. It gave her the impression that Chise had been killed.

However, just as things looked their worst, two balls of red energy headed toward the dinosaurs and hit each one just hard enough on the forehead to knock it out. Yae blinked in confusion when another infected Digimon appeared only to lose all will to fight when cherry blossoms were hurled into its face.

With that, Tono, Metalmamemon and Bigmamemon stepped forward. Yae could tell right away that she could trust them as she breathed a sigh of relief, asking, "Excuse me, have you seen my daughter, Chise? She has short blond hair and glasses."

"Oh yeah, we're good friends with her," Tono replied with a grin, Bigmamemon adding, "And before you ask, she's fine and well. She and the others are going to fight that virus soon."

Yae breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, she was concerned about Chise's well-being, but she was glad that her daughter was not dead. As such, she gave the spheres a bow of respect.

During this time, Hazuki's parents were forced to bow down to a group of ghost-like Digimon. However, that soon ended when Grizzlymon, Dorugamon, the orange dinosaur known as Agumon and the purple dinosaur known as Kotemon charged toward them and struck them down.

The two stared as Dorugamon smirked and said, "Don't worry, I got your back," Grizzlymon remarking, "You mean WE go their back!"

Kotemon let out a sigh and uttered, "Boys," Dorugamon glaring and retorting, "I heard that!"

Dorugamon then sniffed the humans and said, "You kinda smell like my friend, Hazuki," the adults gasping as the mother asked, "You know our daughter?"

"Yeah, she's really cool," Grizzlymon replied with a grin, "She's going off to fight the virus right now."

And of course, both parents were relieved to hear that their daughter was still alive. But what of the other parents?

Currently, Akihiko and Anna were being hunted down as Akihiko had refused to give into the Digimon's demands. In fact, the man had even tried to kill one with his rifle only to find it had little to no effect.

While running, Anna's eyes widened as she tripped and fell hard against the ground what with her wearing high heels. Akihiko turned to her with concern and knelt down asking, "Are you okay, honey?"

Unfortunately, this provided just the distraction the Digimon needed to get close to them. But just as the two were about to be killed, four creatures who had not been infected rushed into the area and knocked the infected Digimon unconscious.

These four were Garurumon, the Siisaa known as Seasarmon, the red beetle, Tentomon and the humanoid plant named Palmon. All four turned toward the rich couple as Palmon asked, "Are you two okay?"

"Stand back!" Akihiko exclaimed, pointing his gun at them only for Anna to take hold of his arm, shaking her head and saying, "Thank you for saving us."

Garurumon blinked and asked, "Wait, you wouldn't happen to be Asami's parents, would you?" both going wide-eyed as they were beyond relieved just to hear mention of her name. And of course, they were even more thrilled when their saviours told them she was still alive.

Though while the other parents had needed saving, Kenichi and Sakura were not having it quite as bad as the others. Since the Digimon who had threatened them were rookies, both parents were able to hold their own. Kenichi had knocked out quite a few with a series of wrestling moves while Sakura used mantis-style Kung Fu.

However, their winning streak would soon come to a halt when beetle with drills for fingers and a nose appeared behind them. But just as things looked like they would take a turn for the worse, the beetle's eyes widened when Tinkermon arrived and rammed her lance into the back of its neck. This caused it to fall asleep as it started having a nightmare.

"Are you our guardian angel?" Kenichi asked as Sakura sighed, "That's clearly a fairy, honey."

"Oh, hey, you're Cho's mom and dad, right?" Tinkermon asked as the two nodded, the fairy adding, "I can see where she gets her awesomeness from. I don't think I've ever heard a human knocking out so much as one Digimon let alone a whole army."

Kenichi grinned with pride and replied, "Well, I don't mean to brag, but-" Sakura resting a hand on his shoulder and asking, "Do you know where our daughter is right now?"

"Sure do," Tinkermon replied, "She and the others are back in Tokyo. They're probably fighting the virus as we speak."

Both parents breathed a sigh of relief as Kenichi said, "I can't believe I thought our daughter of all people had been killed," Sakura giving a nod, both parents more than happy to hear that Cho was alright.

However, the two who would be the most difficult to save right now were Yumi and Kenta. Both were being guarded by two ultimate level Digimon, a huge red rhino beetle a black tengu to be exact.

However, things took an unexpected turn when the tengu took two fireballs to the eyes, Mervamon rushing in and knocking it out with her snake arm. She then proceeded to do the same to the beetle as Impmon turned to the human parents and asked, "Are you two okay?"

Kenta and Yumi stared in stunned silence as the gremlin sighed, "We're not infected, okay? Akari asked us to help save you and the other humans."

"Akari!?" Yumi asked as Kenta added, "You know her? Is she okay? We heard she'd been taken somewhere before the virus could kill her."

"Your daughter's fine," Mervamon replied with a smile, "We were all saved from death by our creator. But rest assured, your daughter and her friends are fine and they're going to defeat that virus and end this nightmare."

The woman proceeded to give the two a wink as Yumi sighed, "So she's still going to fight the virus?" Impmon replying, "I know you're worried, but it's best that they handle this. No one else has the power to stop him."

Yumi still looked concerned as Kenta rested a hand on her shoulder and said, "Have faith, honey. You've seen what our little girl is capable of. I'm worried too, but the little dog in the costume is right."

Impmon gave the man a cross look as Yumi sighed, "Yes," before giving the Digimon before her a smile and adding, "Thanks for saving us and letting us know. I'm just glad Akari's okay," Kenta then asking, "Wait, did you say you were saved by your creator?"

While all of this went on, the girls arrived in an area downtown. Surprisingly, there were no people or Digimon here, well, all except one. Cho pointed forward as all five could see Diaboromon standing right there with a grin on his face.

"Well, I can see things are fine here," the virus said with his hands against his hips, "I guess it's high time I check up on some of the other places."

But before he could, his eyes widened when Cho exclaimed, "HOWLING CANNON!" releasing ultrasonic waves from her mouth while howling. Diaboromon was unable to react as the waves hit him hard in the back.

"KACHINA BOMBS!" Chise exclaimed as her sun emblem opened up, two bladed discs flying out of it. The discs lodged themselves into Diaboromon and exploded as he gritted his teeth, his eyes shut tight.

"WING BLADE!" Asami exclaimed as she unleashed a vacuum blade shaped like a bird toward the virus, Hazuki biting into her finger and forming her blood whip before shouting, "CRIMSON LIGHTNING!"

With that, she whacked Diaboromon multiple times while Akari formed an arrow and shouted, "CELESTIAL ARROW!" sending it toward Diaboromon's chest.

But just as he was about to take in the hit, he smirked and grabbed hold of the arrow. This seemed to be just enough to stop it from moving forward as he snapped it in half, the arrow vanishing. But it did not end here as he stretched out his arms, swinging them around like flails.

The girls were unable to respond as they all took in fierce scratches, cuts forming as they were bleeding. And to top it all off, Diaboromon proceeded to fire a blast of energy from the green gem on his chest, aiming specifically at Akari who just barely managed to avoid it in time.

"I must admit, you did manage to catch me off-guard," the virus stated with a wicked smirk, "But unfortunately, your attacks did barely anything. You may have been able to hurt me before, but that was when I was in my ultimate level. Now you girls are nothing more than a minor nuisance."

"That can't be true," Chise uttered as Cho remarked, "It's not! He's just full of hot air!"

"I don't know about that," Asami replied, "We all managed to hit him and it hardly did a thing."

"Then maybe we should all hit him at once," Hazuki remarked, "After all, that often seems to be the ideal strategy against opponents like these," Akari nodding and creating a ring of light above her head.

Diaboromon's eyes went wide as the girl exclaimed, "HOLY AIR!" a light shining down and healing the girls' wounds. This also managed to paralyse Diaboromon as he struggled to move.

While he struggled, Akari formed another arrow while Cho soared toward the virus with her fist at the ready. Chise fired her eye beams while shouting, "JUSTICE BEAM!" Hazuki once again sending her whip toward him. Asami added to this by spinning like the blades of a fan and stirring up a twister of fire, the rich girl exclaiming, "FIRE HURRICANE!"

But just as the attacks were about to hit, Diaboromon managed to free himself from the paralysis. And just as he did so, he immediately swerved to the right just in time to avoid all of the long-range attacks coming at him. Cho ended up missing his head as she tried swinging her arm sideways, but Diaboromon saw this coming as he grabbed hold of her wrist and flung her hard into Chise's gut.

He then proceeded to stretch his arms out again, this time allowing Hazuki to wrap her whip around his wrist. With that, he grinned and jerked his arm back, pulling the vampire close to him. With that, he rammed his helmet hard into her skull before hurling her into Asami, the rich girl's eyes spinning.

Akari formed yet another arrow only to receive a blast of energy to the gut. The girl ended up flying into a building as she coughed up a bit of blood, Diaboromon laughing insanely.

"This is great!" the virus exclaimed, "I knew being a mega level would make me strong, but I didn't think I'd be this powerful!" though he did notice something off as he rubbed his chin and asked, "How is it that you girls are still in your ultimate forms? When we last fought, they wore off after less than two minutes."

Cho smirked and replied, "That's because we met someone you couldn't even hope to meet, your maker," the virus' eyes widening as he asked, "What?"

"Yes, when we disappeared, we were rescued by the man who created Digimon," Chise uttered, Asami adding, "He blessed us with the ability to control our Digivolution so that defeating you would be much simpler."

However, Diaboromon did not look the least bit shocked or terrified by these words. Instead, he broke out into hysterics as he exclaimed, "Well, it seems my creator isn't as great and powerful as I thought he would be! That's all he was able to do!? He should have at least enhanced your strength or something! What's the point of being able to keep your ultimate forms if you can't even hurt me!?"

All went silent until Hazuki laughed nervously and said, "He has a point," Akari shaking her head and remarking, "No! We can't give up! We're the only ones who can do this!"

Cho nodded and said, "She's right. If we give up now, all of mankind is doomed," the girls all rising to their feet as Hazuki exclaimed, "Let's see you overpower this!"

With that, the goth sent her whip toward Diaboromon, this time wrapping it around his neck as he gasped in pain. The virus tried to struggle loose, but with his air circulation being cut off, he found himself feeling weaker than before.

With that, Cho, Chise and Asami all attempted the attacks they had tried before, and this time the virus was unable to respond. Chise's beams and Asami's fire both hit him at once as he winced, actually feeling pain this time. And to top it off, Cho added to the damage by ramming her fist hard into his face, shouting, "WINNING KNUCKLE!"

This left him wide open as Cho got out of the way just in time for Akari to unleash her celestial arrow. And this time, it hit as it lodged itself into Diaboromon's chest, sticking out of his back. The virus' eyes and mouth were wide open as he actually coughed up blood this time, though it was black like oil.

However, despite all of this, it was not long until Diaboromon was laughing again, only this time it was a low chuckle. The girls stared in confusion as the virus held up his hand and grabbed hold of Hazuki's whip. With that, he applied just enough force to break it open before swinging his arms around, once again covering the girls in cuts. Though this time, he seemed to have more power as it had a worse result.

Cho's mechanical arms ended up shattering while Chise's armour was smashed. As if that was not enough, Asami's wings had been cut in half and Hazuki's clothes were now tattered. But worst of all, Akari's bow was broken. This meant she could no longer use her arrows, and this was especially bad as Diaboromon pried the arrow she had used earlier out of his chest and snapped it in two.

The girls stared in absolute horror as Diaboromon grinned wickedly, saying, "I'll admit, you actually managed to catch me off-guard again, but you should have known better, especially you, Akari. You already saw that your arrows had little to no effect on me in this form."

The girl could not believe she had forgotten that. Her arrow before had almost finished the virus off, but when he Digivolved, all of the damage it had dealt was not even close to being enough.

"I was thinking of sparing you if you were willing to surrender," Diaboromon said with a smirk, "After all, you five would make some useful pawns. But I can see there's just no reasoning with you."

The girls trembled in fear. What could they possibly do? They had given it their all and failed. Was this really the end?


	40. Chapter 40

All truly seemed lost now. The girls were the only ones with the strength to so much as harm the virus and yet despite all of their efforts, they had still failed. And to add insult to injury, Akari had lost her only means of attacking, let alone the fact that she could only use Holy Air once.

But while this went on, Mervamon was off saving more innocent people when she noticed one person being threatened by a Digimon with a knife. The creature in question was Sealsdramon and needless to say, this caused the woman's heart to start racing.

This seemed like a cruel joke. Sure, he was under Diaboromon's curse, but Mervamon was not sure if she could bring herself to hurt him.

However, when she noticed the dinosaur lift up his knife and aim it at the innocent bystander's head, she wasted no time rushing into the scene and knocking it out of his hand. The dinosaur growled at her only for the woman to take hold of him and smother him.

"Sealsdramon, come back to me," she said with her eyes closed, "I know Digimon have never been able to fight the virus before, but you're the sweetest man I've ever met. Please don't do this to me."

Her eyes widened when she noticed Sealsdramon aim his tail blade at her, the woman instinctively delivering a karate chop into his skull. Despite him wearing a helmet, this proved effective enough to knock him unconscious, the human Mervamon had just saved staring silently.

Meanwhile, Diaboromon was now prepared to kill the heroes with a maniacal grin on his face. The demon had his claws at the ready as he said, "I am going to enjoy this."

However, the girls could not accept this. They had come so far and been blessed with a great power. To have everything come crashing down after everything they had been through was just wrong. Did this really have to be the reality?

No, this was not just for their sakes. They had gone through this whole ordeal to save the entire world. All of mankind depended on their victory and as such, neither could lose.

Cho gritted her teeth and wished more than ever that she could protect her parents from the Digimon. Chise had gotten over her fears and now thought of nothing more than saving the innocent. Hazuki knew she had not yet done enough to repent for the murders she had committed with her powers and as such, she wanted this to be another way of making up for that. And Asami wanted to prove that she, too, was good enough to save the world.

But most of all, Akari had now come to terms with the fact that in order for everyone else to be saved, Diaboromon had to be deleted from existence. She hated the idea of having to kill him, but sad as it was, this was truly the only answer.

Just as Diaboromon was ready to strike, Akari bit her lip and exclaimed, "No!" as her body started to glow. And the others followed suit as Diaboromon's eyes widened, the virus exclaiming, "OH NO YOU DON'T!"

But as he sent a blast from his chest cannon toward each girl, they were all deflected by the light as all five girls changed form. The virus stared in shock as they had become their mega forms.

Akari's hair had changed bright pink and remained long. Her clothes vanished and were replaced by a lovely pink dress with the shoulder straps under her shoulders. She also sported a pair of fancy pink shoes as her forearms were covered in big gloves that resembled the claws of a cat. To top it all off, she now had a black tiara with pink stripes on top and still had eight angel wings coming out of her back, only now they matched the colour of her clothes and hair.

Cho, all the while, had her shirt and jacket replaced by a blue suit of armour with a wolf head on the chest area and a red cape. On her hands form blue metal gloves with shields covering the top. Over her fingers was a set of silver blade-like claws, three for each hand.

Meanwhile, Chise's was now wearing a white vest made of fur and a bear skin humped over her shoulders. She also had two big shields covering the sides of her shoulders and a wolf's tail coming out of her rear end. Around her waist was a red loin cloth attached to a belt and she now had white boots made of what looked like bear feet. To top it all off, she also had two big maces strapped to her back and a viking helmet.

Hazuki's face did not change much, but just about everything else did. Her suit was replaced by a red tube top and matching arm sleeves. She also had a pair of black jeans and red gloves with claws attached to them. Four bat wings came out of her back, the top pair being big and the bottom pair small. Top top it off, two red bull-like horns with black stripes came out of the sides of her head.

Asami's wings had been replaced by four yellow ones as her clothes were replaced by a brown breastplate and yellow speedo, two brown shoulder pads forming. On her hands were grey metal gloves and covering her legs were brown metal stockings and black high-heel shoes. Her hair had also become orange as her transformation was complete.

Diaboromon was scared now as he backed up and uttered, "This changes nothing. You can't stop me," the girls glaring at him.

"This has gone on long enough!" Cho exclaimed, "We know you were made to do this, but we're not gonna stand back and let it happen!"

"As long as we can stop you, there's no reason for us to be afraid," Chise added, Hazuki saying, "That's right. We will not rest until you were defeated."

"You have terrorized us long enough," Asami stated, "but now we finally have the means of which to stop you."

Akari took a deep breath and said, "I wish it didn't have to come to this, but it's already been made clear that we have no other choice."

With that, the metal wolf head on Cho's chest opened up and unleashed a blast of energy while the blue-haired girl barked, "FULL MOON BLASTER!" the beam hitting Diaboromon hard. The virus attempted to strike back with his arms only for Chise to shout, "VIKING FLAIL!" while using her maces to strike his arms, pinning them both against the ground.

"TYRANT SAVAGE!" Hazuki exclaimed as her claws cat flame, the goth striking Diaboromon hard across the chest and shattering his armour. Asami added to this by unleashing a torrent of flame from her mouth while shouting, "CRIMSON FLAME!"

Diaboromon roared in pain as Akari opening her mouth and exclaimed, "FIRE TORNADO!" unleashing a flame of her own that became a twister around the virus upon making contact. Now Diaboromon was feeling the worst pain he had ever felt as he fell to his arms and knees, breathing heavily.

"How can this be?" the virus uttered as Cho grinned and stated, "Alright, let's finish him off."

But just as the girls were about to do so, Diaboromon's mouth opened wide as he let out a loud roar. He then proceeded to go down on all fours like a lizard, his body transforming into that very form. His skin was now purple as he wore a black breastplate and a shell along his back. He had six spidery legs with three claws on the end of each and his face was now covered by a black helmet with horns. He also grew a tail that resembled that of a scorpion

The girls stared in horror as Hazuki uttered, "No, he can't have another form, can he?" the virus no longer able to talk as he roared, blind rage in his eyes. It seemed he had now lost control over himself and would stop at nothing to end all life as he knew it.

With that, the lizard opened up his gaping maw and unleashed a destructive wave of energy that hit all five girls and sent them flying away from him. They tried to fight back when suddenly, the shell on the virus' back opened up and unleashed energy shells into the sky. Once they reached the clouds, they started to rain down in the form of scattered beams.

And it not the girls being targeted. No, this was aimed at various parts of Tokyo with many people and Digimon alike fleeing for their lives. Some had been struck down as they turned into data and flew into the virus' mouth and even a few civilians were hit by the beams. Luckily, though, most of them had managed to avoid them as there was only a total of thirty, Mervamon taking a deep breath and cradling Sealsdramon in her arms.

"You know he tried to kill you, right?" Impmon asked as Mervamon ignored his words, the gremlin letting out a sigh and thinking, 'Please, girls, tell me you're okay.'

Just as he had thought this, A big-screen TV suddenly turned on along with every other one in the city, Juri now standing before the battle area as she stated, "And it would seem our heroes have returned to save us, all five sporting brand new looks that I am certain has given them more power! Though I must say, if they are fighting that virus right now, I have to say, he is much scarier than I thought he would be."

"You're acting way too calm about this," the camera man sighed as the woman groaned, "You might have a point this time."

Akari breathed heavily and whimpered, "No, this can't be it! He's become even stronger!" Cho sighing, "True, but we're also stronger. If we die today, we'll die doing the best we can."

Hazuki nodded and said, "I'm glad I met you guys. You're the best people I've ever known," Asami replying, "I concur."

Chise nodded with a light smile as Akari smiled wide and said, "You're right. We can't give up without a fight."

With that, the virus roared and was about to attack them again only for Akari to shout, "HERMIT FOG!" unleashing a mist from her mouth that made the lizard feel weak, his eyelids dropping slightly.

With the virus distracted, Cho sent a downward slash with her claws and exclaimed, "DOUBLE CRESCENT MIRAGE!" moon-shaped shock waves coming from her claws and hitting the lizard in multiple spots.

"BAZOOKA HOWL!" Chise exclaimed before letting loose a deafening howl that dealt internal harm to the lizard, Hazuki taking full of advantage of this as small holes form on her belly, purple flames shooting from them as she shouted, "CHAOS FLAME!"

"STAR-LIGHT EXPLOSION!" Asami exclaimed as flapped her four wings, raining down golden grains toward the virus that exploded on contact.

But just as Akari was about to deliver another blow of her own, the virus regained focus and let out a deafening roar. Once again, he emitted energy from his maw, the girls doing their best to avoid it this time. However, Chise was not fast enough as she found herself struck and sent hurtling into a wall, Juri and the camera man panicking now.

Cho's eyes widened as she spat, "YOU MONSTER!" soaring toward the lizard with her claws at the ready only to end up crushed beneath one of its feet. To add insult to injury, the virus added to the damage by shifting the foot back and forth as if he was squishing a bug.

Hazuki and Asami went in to fight back only to wind up taking in hard kicked to the face, both flying away from the virus and feeling intense pain. Akari trembled as the virus opened his maw, aiming to attack her.

But as the virus unleashed his energy waves, Akari exclaimed, "DRAGON FIRE!" lifting up her arms as big black clouds formed overhead, raining down energy bolts toward the virus and striking him hard in the back.

Unfortunately, Akari took in the hit and was sent flying head-first into a lamp post. With that, she let out a low groan and lost consciousness, reverting to her human state while the other girls also felt too weak to continue.

However, Akari's timing could not have been better as the virus took the last bolt to the back, the bolt passing through him and striking his heart. His eyes widened as he let out a loud roar, his body exploding and turning into data. But rather than floating away, it instead vanished, the virus' data never to be seen again.

The data that did remain, however, was all the data he had consumed. All of it floated into the air and flew off to the Digital World so that the owners of that data could be reborn. And to make things even better, all the infected Digimon who were still alive had been reverted to normal.

In another city far from Tokyo, Magnaangemon and Ophanimon blinked and looked at one-another. Ophanimon then looked around and asked, "What have we been doing?" her knight replying, "I have no idea, but it could not have been good."

The Gekomon also returned to normal, Princess Otama turning to her husband as both gave each-other a tight embrace. All the while, Shogungekomon looked off into the distance and said, "I guess Hazuki, Asami and their friends managed to kill the virus. I shall write a three-minute song dedicated to them. It will be my finest work."

"You mean our finest work?" Gekomon asked as Otama added, "I'd like to help too," the king shrugging and replying, "Sure. It'll be a family project."

Tinkermon looked around at all the Digimon returning to normal as she sighed, "I wonder where Petermon is," only for the boy in question to rub his head while floating aimlessly nearby, groaning, "I can't believe I let myself cave into the man."

"PETERMON!" Tinkermon squealed as she flew over to him and held him in a tight embrace, showering the boy in kisses. His cheeks flushed pink as he sighed, "Well, this is better than being infected."

The kids also arrived at the scene and pounced on the boy for a tight embrace, Petermon's eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He and Tinkermon simply laughed as they could not have been happier right now.

Peckmon reverted to normal as well, though currently, he was in Osaka. The ostrich looked around and let out a sigh of relief before looking into the sky and noticing data flying up into the Digital World while thinking, 'Well, Leomon, we might be able to meet again someday, though you probably won't remember me.'

However, the one happiest right now was Mervamon. Her eyes widened when Sealsdramon blinked and uttered, "Where am I?" his eyes widening as he noticed his head was right up against a certain woman's chest.

He then looked up and uttered, "Sorry, ma'am," as Mervamon chuckled and replied, "Don't apologize," before leaning her head downward and planting a kiss on his lips.

Sealsdramon immediately sprang out of her arms and exclaimed, "What is the meaning of this!?" the woman bending down to his height and replying, "Sealsdramon, you are the sweetest, bravest Digimon I've ever met. I love you."

The dinosaur blinked and felt a thumping in his chest as he uttered, "Well, I guess I owe you a date when we get back."

The people were not sure what was going on for a first little while, but all became clear when Juri managed to broadcast her report worldwide, saying, "And finally, after much struggle and torment, Tokyo's five heroes, Akari, Cho, Chise, Hazuki and Asami had defeated the virus and saved the world!"

Seeing this, the world broke out into heavy cheers. The girls' parents could not have been happier as tears ran down their eyes. Sakura and Kenichi gave each-other a high five and exclaimed, "I KNEW SHE COULD DO IT!"

Hazuki's parents looked at one-another with a big grin while Anna just about fainted. Luckily, Akihiko was there to catch her as he said, "My little girl just saved mankind."

Yae beamed bright and said, "I knew you could do it, Chise."

But of all the parents, the two most relieved by this news were Yumi and Kenta. However, when they saw their daughter unconscious against a lamppost, their joy became fear as they immediately sprinted toward the area, knowing the Digimon would no longer try to stop them.

Impmon was also headed toward the area as he noticed the parents. The two turned as the gremlin decided to join them. Sure, he may not have been part of Akari's family, but he still cared deeply about her. After all, she was the one who helped him see the light.

And it not long until the other parents were headed toward the area as well. Akihiko would have called for a limo for private chopper, but this was not the time for that.

And soon enough, they all arrived as the girls were just starting to come to. Yumi and Kenta raced to Akari's side and looked at her with concern, Yumi breathing heavily, a smile on her face when she saw her daughter's eye open.

"Mom? Dad?" Akari uttered as the two gave her a tight embrace, Yumi exclaiming, "Thank god you're alive!" tears running down her cheeks as Akari sighed, "Sorry to worry you like that."

"We may have been worried, but we had a feeling you could do it," Kenta said with a grin, "Who knew our daughter would be a hero?"

The other parents had their own comments to make. Anna and Akihiko both smothered Asami, the rich girl rolling her eyes and giving them their moment. A part of her had missed it to a certain degree.

Kenichi congratulated Cho and treated her like she had won the title belt while Sakura had to remind him that the girl had been in serious danger. Needless to say, both were very proud of her but also hoped that she would never have to do this again.

However, there was one thing both Cho and Chise needed to get out of the way as Cho said, "Mom, Dad, there's something I need to tell you."

The two were curious as the blue-haired girl added, "I think I might have found my soul mate," Sakura blinking and asking, "Wait, you're not going to marry one of those Digimon things, are you?" Kenichi's eyes widening at the very thought.

"No!" Cho remarked as Chise nodded and walked over, the two holding hands with bright smiles on their faces. Cho knew her parents would approve as they already knew of her sexual preference, but Yae was rather surprised by this.

Even so, Chise's happiness mattered more to her mother than anything else and as such, she was more than happy with this. With both families having approved, the blue-haired girl and the blond turned to one-another and gave each-other a light peck on the lips.

Akari then noticed Impmon tap her on the shoulder as she turned and said, "I guess this is goodbye, isn't it?"

"Yeah," the gremlin replied, "I'd love to stay here with you, but we belong in the Digital World, though we'll be sure to come by and visit every now and then."

He then took hold of Akari's hands and added, "But seriously, Akari, thank you for showing me the light. You made me realize how stupid I was to go along with that virus' plans. You've shown me nothing but kindness after I tried my hardest to kill you."

Tears then formed as he grunted, "Oh man, I got some dust in my eyes or something," Impmon trying to wipe them away as Akari rolled her eyes and held him in a tight embrace, saying, "I'll miss you."

And with all said and done, Sealsdramon offered to send everyone back with a portal to the town Diaboromon had taken residence in. Since he was gone, it was a safe place to start their journey back home. He and Mervamon offered to do this for every city on Earth until all of the Digimon were back in the Digital World.

However, it seemed this would not be necessary as a big portal opened up in the sky. It seemed Akio had created this portal thus allowing all the Digimon to return to their respective homes immediately. But that was not all.

The heroes of the world were all surprised to see their diamonds shattered, the silhouettes of their spirits forming before them to wave goodbye. And with that, they all returned to the Digital World, though unlike the other data, these ones would not become eggs. Instead, they were to revert to their original bodies. Akio figured that allowing them to enjoy the lives they had now was a much better idea than having them start over.

And from that moment on, things were about as normal as they could be, all things considered. Needless to say, all cities and towns in the world were to be repaired after the damage caused by infected Digimon. It was a long and difficult task, but it was worth it in the end.

Every now and then, Impmon and the others would stop on by to pay the girls a visit. They ended up really enjoying what the city had to offer, but the most surprising thing of all was that the girls' parents had no problem letting the likes of Impmon, Mervamon or Sealsdramon stay for the occasional sleepover.

As for the girls themselves, they had bright futures ahead of them. After graduating from high school, Akari met a young man named Daichi. The two had many things in common and eventually fell in love, Akari's parents giving their daughter the perfect wedding.

As for her future career, Akari had taken up the life of a counsellor. She figured that helping people overcome internal struggles was what she was made to do.

Cho of course became a professional wrestler and eventually went on to become Tokyo's champion. However, the title of world champ was far from her reach but she was determined to do it.

Chise, all the while, surprisingly grew up to be a high school teacher. Thanks to her friends, she had gotten over not only her social anxiety but also her fear of just about everything school-related. Now she embraced the class and had no problem teaching small crowds of students.

Of course, she and Cho were married almost immediately following their graduation. Cho did not wish to wait past that and Chise was more than happy to go along with this plan. Sure, the two would get the occasional awkward stare from people, but they refused to let this get to them.

Hazuki's parents suggested she become the owner of a blood bank but deep down, the goth had a feeling she would not be able to control herself. As such, she got a job as a hairdresser. And there she met the love of her life, a young man named Eito. He was not a goth like Hazuki but rather a simple boy with glasses and neatly-groomed hair, and yet despite this, he had all of the same interests Hazuki did. Needless to say, they both clicked.

Asami went on to become a famous explorer, travelling across the globe to many exotic lands. She actually made a very good living off of this. But best of all, her parents approved.

What they did have trouble approving of, though, was their daughter falling in love with a poor boy named Fumito. Of course, their issue was the simple fact that he was not rich like they were. But they soon found that he was a perfect match for Asami and one of the smartest people they had ever met and eventually, they were convinced and paid for the most expensive wedding they could think of.

Needless to say, things had truly turned out for the best. Everyone was living a happy life and the world was safe.


End file.
